After ending '24 red hot, Gore looking to put together full season

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- During his first spring start, MacKenzie Gore showed flashes of what made him brilliant at times last year.

He also displayed some of the struggles that often led him into trouble.

Gore's focusing on throwing strikes more consistently. The strike zone proved elusive early Saturday in the Nationals' 7-0 win over the Marlins, over the course of his three scoreless innings, he became a strike-throwing machine.

“We figured it out,” Gore said. “Sometimes you're just going to throw a ball here and there. And we didn't panic or anything. We just kind of got back in the count. I thought for March 1, it was solid.”

Gore only faced four batters in the first, but started three of them with a ball -- including to leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards, who ultimately walked.

His control came around after the first, falling behind 1-0 to only two of the eight batters faced in the next two frames.

Gore ultimately threw 31 of his 49 pitches for strikes, allowing two hits and that one walk while striking out four.

“He was amped up in the first inning and then he settled in really good,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “His stuff was crisp, which was awesome to see.”

When Gore has struggled in years past, it's often because he's working from behind in the count. In 2024, he issued a team-high 65 walks in 32 starts, and also led the Nationals in hit batters (11) and wild pitches (14).

Martinez emphasizes that Gore’s arsenal is plenty good enough to befuddle big league hitters.

“He does not have to shy away from the strike zone,” Martinez said. “He needs to pump strikes and get ahead.”

Gore didn't allow more than three earned runs in any of his first 11 starts last season, but his 5.13 ERA in five June starts ballooned to 7.62 during six July starts.

But starting in late August, a time when pitchers often run out of gas, Gore returned to early season form, allowing two earned runs or fewer in each of his final seven starts, culminating with six shutout innings against Philadelphia in his final outing of the year.

He finished the season with a 10-12 record, striking out 181 batters in 166 1/3 innings.

“You know, first part of last year, unbelievable,” Martinez said. “Didn't go so well in the middle. At the end, he was unbelievable. So if we can get him consistent, he's going to be one of the top pitchers in the league.”

In two seasons with the Nationals -- after coming to D.C. in the Juan Soto trade -- Gore has put up a 17-22 record.

Gore understands there will be some bad starts, but he can't let poor outings build negative momentum.

“To be the best, your bad stretches have got to be a little shorter,” Gore said. “That's what the good ones do.”

Because when Gore's good, he can be extremely good -- something Martinez frequently hears when discussing the 26-year-old lefty, who racked up nine strikeouts in three of his final five starts in ‘24.

“They all say the same thing,” Martinez said. “This guy, if he just learns how to just throw strikes, he's an All-Star.”