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After dazzling in the All-Star Game earlier this week, MacKenzie Gore’s return to the mound on Sunday was anything but a continuation of that form. The Washington Nationals lefty was shelled for eight runs over just 2 1/3 innings in an 8-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, matching a career-worst in earned runs allowed and watching his ERA spike from 3.02 to 3.59. When asked to explain what went wrong, Gore summed it up in five brutal words: “I was just bad today.”
The outing was supposed to be a rematch of last month’s pitchers’ duel in San Diego, where Gore and Padres right-hander Nick Pivetta battled to a 1-0 final. Pivetta once again showed up, tossing six innings of one-run ball. Gore, however, didn’t make it out of the third.
“It just wasn’t very good,” Gore said postgame. “They put the ball in play and got a lot of hits. They hit two homers. I just wasn’t very good.”
The nightmare began immediately. Gore opened the game with a walk to Fernando Tatis Jr., gave up a single to Luis Arraez, and walked Manny Machado to load the bases. Then came the dagger: Xander Bogaerts jumped on the first pitch and crushed a grand slam to left, putting the Padres up 4-0 before an out had been recorded.
Padres take the series over the Nationals
“Knowing they were going to be ready to hit a heater, we went in and got it in,” Gore explained. “But I probably could've understood that he was going to try to open up and get a ball in the air — and he did.”
It didn’t get better. Gore faced all nine Padres batters in the first and threw 37 pitches. By the time Elias Díaz launched a two-run homer in the third, Gore had thrown 75 pitches, allowed 10 baserunners, and looked nothing like the All-Star he’s been this season.
“They were definitely trying to be aggressive early,” catcher Riley Adams said. “A lot of teams recently have been doing that to MacKenzie, trying to not let him get you to two strikes.”
The Nationals offense didn’t do much to help. They managed just six hits and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Adams’ solo homer in the fifth was the lone run.
Interim manager Miguel Cairo didn’t sugarcoat things: “One pitch changed the whole first inning,” he said. “He just fell behind, and they had good at-bats.” Despite the loss, the bullpen held its own. Jackson Rutledge, Andry Lara, and Cole Henry combined to throw 6 2/3 scoreless innings, a silver lining on an otherwise miserable afternoon.
Gore and the Nationals (39-60) will try to regroup. “It’s always good to look at and try to learn from it,” Gore said. “But this one’s over with. We’ll get it again in five days.”
