SEATTLE – Southpaw MacKenzie Gore became the first pitcher this season to reach 100 strikeouts in the Nationals’ 9-3, 10-inning win over the Mariners on Thursday at T-Mobile Park.
Gore fanned eight batters to bring his season total to 101 strikeouts in his first 12 starts. For league comparison, Phillies ace Zack Wheeler ranks second with 94 strikeouts through 12 starts.
“It means we’ve been doing a lot of good things up to this point,” Gore said. “Just understand there’s a lot of baseball left. But that’s a lot of strikeouts, and it means we’ve been throwing the ball well. We’ve just got to continue to stack good days and get ready for the next one.”
Gore, 26, is the third Nationals pitcher in team history (2005-present) to become the first in baseball with 100 strikeouts, joining Max Scherzer (2018) and Stephen Strasburg (‘12, ‘14). He also collected his 500th career strikeout in his 84th Major League start.
“We’ve known for years, [since] we got him, that his stuff was electric,” said manager Dave Martinez. “The biggest thing was getting the ball in the zone with all his pitches, and he’s done that.”
Gore, who came to the Nats in the Juan Soto trade in August 2022, allowed four hits and did not issue a walk across 95 pitches in six scoreless innings. He exited with a 2-0 lead, but the game was not decided until Nationals No. 9 prospect Daylen Lile recorded his first career RBI with a go-ahead sacrifice fly and sparked a seven-run 10th inning.
“He’s an awesome pitcher,” Lile said. “He’s got good stuff, and he trusts his defense. … I love playing behind him.”
Gore went with his fastball for 56 (59%) of his pitches. His four-seamer induced 12 whiffs on 31 swings, maxing at 96.9 mph.
“He’s been lights-out all year. It’s fun to watch,” said Josh Bell. “It seems like he can let the opposing team know that he’s throwing a fastball, and it’s a foul ball virtually every time. Not a lot of people can do that in this game, especially not from the left side.”
Every out in Gore’s sixth and final frame came on strikeouts. J.P. Crawford was ejected after arguing a third-strike call on the first out. Gore got Julio Rodríguez to swing at a cutter inside on a four-pitch at-bat. Then, he let out a burst of emotion when he battled back from a 2-0 count to strike out Randy Arozarena with the bases loaded on three consecutive swinging strikes.
“Remember [how] we talk about his maturity, his growth?” Martinez said. “I’ve seen him unravel in situations like that. He stayed poised, he stayed in it and he got big outs for us.”
Gore attacked Arozarena with five straight four-seam fastballs, sticking with it rather than mixing in his curveball. Each of the swing-and-misses clocked at over 95 mph.
“Just understand[ing], look, the bases are loaded, 2-0, but also I knew if I threw a good heater, he probably wasn’t going to do a lot with it,” Gore said. “So that just gives you a lot of confidence with a good game plan going in, and we were able to do it three times in a row and get out of it.”
Gore, the Nationals' Opening Day starter, entered Thursday projected to record a league-leading 274 strikeouts this season. If he keeps this pace, that total would be good for fourth-most single-season strikeouts in Nationals team history.
“I’m definitely happy for him,” said Bell. “I’m happy that he’s on our squad -- and I’m happy that I don’t have to face him.”