WASHINGTON -- In his first Opening Day start, left-hander MacKenzie Gore set a Nationals franchise record and joined a Hall of Famer with 13 strikeouts in a dazzling six-inning, one-hit performance during a 7-3 loss to the Phillies on Thursday at Nationals Park.
¡°That was special,¡± said manager Dave Martinez. ¡°To go out there in his first Opening Day start and do what he did was awesome.¡±
Gore joined the iconic Bob Gibson (1967) as the only pitchers in AL/NL history with 13 strikeouts and no walks in a scoreless outing on Opening Day.
The Nats' team mark had belonged to Max Scherzer, who fanned 12 against the Mets in 2019. Scherzer also recorded double-digit Opening Day strikeouts in ¡®18 (10 vs. the Reds) and ¡®20 (11 vs. the Yankees), and Stephen Strasburg struck out 10 Mets in ¡®14.
¡°[I didn¡¯t know the strikeout total] as the game was going on, but when I was done, that¡¯s what they told me,¡± Gore said. ¡°I really don¡¯t even know how to describe the feeling. But it was cool, so it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun.¡±
To begin his fourth Major League season, Gore set a career high in strikeouts (previously 11), while recording his eighth career start with double-digit strikeouts.
Gore, 26, also joined Lon Warneke in 1934 as the only pitchers in AL/NL history to turn in a scoreless Opening Day start with double-digit strikeouts and no more than one hit allowed. Warneke, however, walked two batters in his outing.
The Nationals named Gore the Opening Day starter following a 2024 season in which he went 10-12 with a 3.90 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 32 starts. He ranked seventh among NL pitchers in strikeouts per nine innings (9.8).
¡°He¡¯s a different guy,¡± said Martinez. ¡°He doesn¡¯t let too many things rattle him. He went out there, and on some close calls that didn¡¯t go his way, he got right back to that next pitch -- and it was great.¡±
Gore opened the afternoon with a 95.4 mph fastball to Phillies leadoff hitter Trea Turner. He navigated the six-pitch at-bat to ultimately catch Turner swinging, then offered a sign of things to come by fanning Bryce Harper on just three pitches.
Then, the 2017 third overall pick got rolling. Gore struck out J.T. Realmuto and Max Kepler in the second frame, and he struck out the side in the third against the bottom of the Phillies' order.
The fourth inning was highlighted by Gore striking out Harper for the second time, and the same against Realmuto in the fifth.
"I thought MacKenzie threw the ball really well -- filled up the zone, kept us off balance,¡± said Harper. ¡° ... Obviously, those first two at-bats [hitting in the shadows], it's tough against a guy like MacKenzie. I think it was tough for both teams today."
Gore exclaimed when he flustered Brandon Marsh with a slider in the zone to end his day after six innings -- good for his record-setting 13th strikeout.
¡°I knew we were emptying the tank there,¡± Gore said. ¡° ¡ I was fired up.¡±
In total, Gore delivered 93 pitches (66 strikes) and faced the minimum 18 batters. The only baserunner he allowed came on a fourth-inning single by Kyle Schwarber, who was later caught stealing.
Gore¡¯s fastball maxed out at 98 mph and averaged 95.8 mph. He worked with catcher Keibert Ruiz to deliver a mix of four-seam fastballs (44% usage), sliders (25%), curveballs (15%), changeups (10%) and cutters (6%).
¡°He was doing everything,¡± said Ruiz, who described Gore as ¡°unbelievable.¡± ¡°[He was] getting ahead, putting good pitches to get away and making pitches when he needed to. He was ready.¡±
Though he departed with a 1-0 lead, Gore settled for a no-decision after Harper hit a game-tying homer off Lucas Sims in the seventh and Schwarber followed with a go-ahead solo shot two batters later off Jose A. Ferrer.
¡°It¡¯s kind of one of these special days, and you enjoy it,¡± Gore said. ¡°Understand when we wake up tomorrow, we have to start this thing over again. But I¡¯m going to enjoy it today with the family here, Opening Day -- it was a lot of fun. It¡¯s kind of nice when the work pays off and you get to see it.¡±