WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- MacKenzie Gore is the kind of locked-in hurler who lets his pitching do the talking. So when manager Dave Martinez informed the 26-year-old southpaw he had earned his first Opening Day start, Martinez tailored his approach.
“I just walked over and said, ‘By the way, you’re pitching Opening Day. Good luck,’” Martinez said Monday morning. “He just looked at me and goes, ‘OK, thank you.’ I said, ‘All right, buddy. Let’s go. We follow your lead.’”
Gore will face off against right-hander Zack Wheeler and the Phillies, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET on March 27 at Nationals Park.
Gore is entering his fourth big league season. Last year, he led the Nationals in ERA (3.90) and set career bests in starts (32) and innings pitched (166 1/3).
Gore dropped his home run rate from 1.8 in 2023 to 0.8 in ‘24. That mark ranked fifth in the National League. Gore held opponents to nine homers in his last 20 starts of the season.
Among NL pitchers, Gore also ranked seventh in strikeouts per nine innings (9.79), and his squared-up contact percentage (27.7) was ninth lowest among all pitchers with a minimum of 500 competitive swings, per Baseball Savant.
“He's matured a lot,” said Martinez. “I think he's starting to understand who he is, really. His stuff is so good. He's actually really starting to understand how to use his stuff, which is amazing.”
Gore will look to pick up on Opening Day where he left off at the end of 2024. From Aug. 23 to the end of the season, Gore ranked fifth in baseball with a 1.55 ERA. He gave up two or fewer earned runs during those seven starts.
In two starts this spring, Gore is 2-0 in 8 1/3 scoreless innings. He has recorded 10 strikeouts, allowed four hits and issued four walks. Opponents are batting .154 against him. He will make his third start on Monday.
“The biggest thing with him is the control of heartbeat and just be[ing] where his feet are,” Martinez said. “In high-leverage situations, he needs to just understand, just get to that next pitch. ….
“There have been some moments where I saw in the past where he could lose it and blow up. This spring, he's kind of taken a step back and really honed in on trying to get that next hitter right away. And it's been great.”
Gore was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Padres and acquired in the Juan Soto blockbuster deal in 2022. He was named the 2017 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year.
“It's definitely a growth moment for him,” said Martinez. “To be the guy that could go represent us Opening Day is awesome as a starting pitcher. Like I told them, we're going to follow you. I know that he understands it's a big stepping stone for him.”