WASHINGTON -- What a difference an offseason makes.

The season after allowing the most home runs among all National League pitchers, Trevor Williams is the only starter who has not surrendered a homer this year (35-inning minimum).

The right-hander extended his streak to seven homer-less starts in the Nationals’ 3-0 win over the Orioles on Tuesday at Nationals Park, putting Washington over .500 for the first time since July 2021.

“To be over .500 for the first time since 2021 I think is a huge step forward for this team,” said Williams. “I’m thankful that I’m part of it, I’m thankful that I’m able to help and we’re playing tremendous baseball right now.”

Williams kept zeros on the board in that category with a career-high-tying eight strikeouts in five innings. He also allowed two hits and did not issue a walk across 77 pitches. His ERA dipped to 1.96 -- seventh among qualified NL pitchers -- compared to 5.55 last season.

Manager Dave Martinez credits Williams for working this winter on keeping the ball down, getting ahead in counts and mixing his pitches to maximize his fastball. The approach has worked -- Williams also is holding opponents’ to a .248 slugging percentage, fourth-best among NL pitchers.

"The ability to change speeds and really live on the edges -- we just couldn’t get anything going against him offensively,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “A crafty righty. He did a nice job. That fastball was 91 [mph], but it plays up because the other stuff is strikes, and he keeps the ball down really well."

Williams joins Gio González as the only pitcher in Nationals team history (2005-present) to not surrender a home run in seven starts. His 44 1/3-inning streak of homer-less games reaches back to Sept. 10, 2023, ninth-longest in Nats history, per Elias Sports Bureau.

“I think we’ve got probably the best -- or if not, second or third -- offense in all of baseball,” said Orioles starter Corbin Burnes. “These guys came across a guy today that had been throwing the ball well the last 40-something innings. When he’s locating and mixing speeds and keeping guys off-balance, it’s tough to hit."

The Nationals are managing Williams’ innings and pitch count this season. As well as Williams was throwing, Martinez did not want to exceed 80 pitches. His outing concluded with an impressive leaping grab of a Ramón Urías lineout with an .870 expected batting average (xBA) by Luis García Jr. at second base.

“It was great,” said Williams. “He’s got great hops and he had great positioning, so it was perfect.”

Williams has started in two of the Nationals’ four shutouts this season, including a 1-0 win versus the Rangers in his last outing. On Tuesday, the Nationals provided a bigger offensive cushion. Joey Meneses put the Nats on the board with an RBI single to drive in Jesse Winker in the second inning. Washington added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh off RBI singles from Eddie Rosario and Trey Lipscomb.

Tuesday’s victory was the Nats’ first shutout against the Orioles since June 21, 2022. They already have surpassed last season’s shutout total and tied the mark in 2022.

“The starter stayed around the edges, he was getting a lot of calls around the edges, kind of kept us off-balance,” said Orioles designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn. “Offensively, just one of those nights we couldn’t get anything going.”

A nine-year veteran, Williams expects his opponents to strategize the next time they face him. Just as he prepared this offseason, he will continue to hone his approach to try to stay one step ahead and help grow the Nationals record.

“We’ve had bulk starts now in the season, and now it’s that time of the year where you have to see how teams will start adjusting, and it’s time to adjust back,” Williams said. “That’s when pitching gets fun and that’s when this part of the season gets fun. But I’m just thankful that we’re able to play really good baseball.”