MIAMI -- The Nationals have ace MacKenzie Gore back in the rotation.
Gore, who was placed on the IL on Aug. 30 (retroactive to Aug. 27) with left shoulder inflammation, started Thursday’s game against the Marlins at loanDepot park. In a corresponding move, the Nationals optioned right-hander Orlando Ribalta to Triple-A Rochester.
Interim manager Miguel Cairo said the Nationals were going to keep an eye on Gore’s workload, indicating that he would be on a pitch count – but no official number was given.
“We’re going to be careful," Cairo said of Gore, who holds a 4.15 ERA over 27 starts this season. “He missed a start, but he’s been good. Hopefully it goes smoothly and he gives us the pitches he needs to throw."
The expectation at the time of his IL placement was for Gore to return before the end of the regular season, but it was not certain.
“It was a little break,” Cairo said. “He didn’t have a break because of the All-Star Game, so, I think it was good to let him make sure his shoulder was right.”
Gore, Washington’s Opening Day starter and a first-time All-Star, allowed a combined six earned runs with eight strikeouts over 9 1/3 innings in his two starts prior to landing on the IL; that includes allowing three runs on three hits over five innings in a 5-1 loss to the Yankees on Aug. 26. It was during that start that he began to feel the injury.
“It’s something, the way it felt last start, where we needed to get an MRI,” Gore said the day he went on the IL. “Nothing crazy showed up with significant injury. I didn’t want to go on the IL, but we kind of needed to. I plan on being back as soon as I can, but we just need to clean up a few things in there and should be alright.”
Across eight starts in the second half prior to Thursday, Gore had a 7.54 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP.
Second baseman Luis García Jr. said, via interpreter Mauricio Ortiz, that Gore’s return should give the Nationals an additional lift.
“Very happy to have him back," García said. “It is a good thing that it was not worse than we expected. It’s going to be really good to see him pitch [Thursday]."