MacKenzie Gore resorted to placing his hand on his left hip and staring at the scoreboard. The third inning of the Washington Nationals’ 12-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night wasn’t supposed to go this way.
With one out, Luke Williams — the Braves’ No. 9 hitter — bounced a routine grounder to third baseman José Tena, who bobbled the ball and rushed a poor throw. Even though Gore retired the next hitter, the fielding error had a domino effect. Jorge Soler followed with a ground-rule double that scored Williams and put the Braves in front. After Marcell Ozuna walked, Matt Olson and Ramón Laureano hit back-to-back doubles — and suddenly the Braves led 4-0. None of the runs were earned, but the inning ruined Gore’s night anyway.
“I just didn’t execute like I have been,” he said. “When you see a team for a fourth time, execution is extremely important. And I didn’t do it with two strikes.”
From early July to mid-August, the 25-year-old left-hander had a run of eight starts that he would like to forget. In that stretch, Gore posted a 7.71 ERA. His fastball velocity was down, and one or two rough innings seemed to tank every outing.
After searching for answers, Gore found some much-needed momentum. Entering Tuesday, he had allowed two runs or fewer in his previous three starts, providing hope that he had rediscovered the pitcher he was in the season’s first three months. His velocity returned, and he stayed ahead of hitters to get quick outs.
His development remains vital as the Nationals (64-80) trudge toward other losing season. Gore struggled mightily for more than a month, yes, but his recent response may have been more encouraging than his issues. A few more positive starts before September ends could be a steppingstone toward 2025.
“It was a tough day for him,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “We got to get him back straightened out and get the ball down again for him and go from there.”
Over the first two innings Tuesday, it appeared Gore would keep moving in the right direction; he retired seven of the first eight Braves he faced. The came the dreaded third inning, and things only got worse in the fourth.
Gore got the first two outs, but then Michael Harris II hit the first of his two solo homers to extend the Braves’ lead to 5-0. Gore again compounded his mistake with a two-out walk, this time of Soler. Keibert Ruiz allowed Ozuna to reach on a catcher’s interference call before back-to-back RBI singles by Olson and Laureano ended Gore’s night.
In his first three starts against Atlanta (79-66) this season, Gore had a 1.65 ERA in 16⅓ innings. His fourth start was a different story. He allowed seven runs, but just two of them were earned, slightly boosting his ERA to 4.34. It didn’t help that he didn’t have his best stuff — his velocity was down on all of his pitches, and he recorded just eight whiffs on 40 Atlanta swings.
“I don’t know if it was necessarily a different approach,” Gore said. “I think it was more I didn’t execute when I needed to and they hit mistakes.”
His teammates didn’t do him any favors at the plate, even after Braves starter Reynaldo López exited after the first inning with right shoulder tightness. On the night, Washington managed just three hits — all doubles, including two by Tena. And after Gore exited, the bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding. Orlando Arcia hit a solo homer off Jacob Barnes in the fifth inning. Sean Murphy added a two-run blast in the sixth off Joe La Sorsa. The Braves tacked on another run against Tanner Rainey in the eighth. By the ninth, utility man Ildemaro Vargas was on the mound.
The lopsided loss was one the Nationals will look to wash off when the two-game series concludes Wednesday. But Gore’s response to his latest roadblock could mean more to Washington’s future.
“We want him to finish off the season strong,” Martinez said. “He’s really had some good outings up until today. So [I’m] not going to beat him up too much today — I’m really not. He’s done a lot better.”
Williams makes rehab start
Trevor Williams made his first rehab start for Class AA Harrisburg after being sidelined since May 30 with a flexor strain in his right elbow. He threw 28 pitches over three scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out one. He probably will start for Harrisburg again Sunday before being activated from the injured list.
Before he was injured, the 32-year-old was having one of the best seasons of his career, pitching to a 2.22 ERA in 11 starts. Once he gets back to the big leagues, the Nationals could return to a six-man rotation to reduce the stress on their young rotation.
