MacKenzie Evan Gore…was the Gatorade National High School Athlete of the Year for all sports in 2017, as well as BA’s High School Player of the Year...led Whiteville H.S. to three state titles in four years…as a senior, went 11-0 with a 0.19 ERA (2 ER) and 158 SO (5 BB) in 74.1 IP...struck out all 15 batters in 5.0 perfect innings in one of his starts...also hit .480 with 6 HR, 25 RBI, and an .880 SLG…cites his big leg kick as an important part of his delivery…immediately after Gore was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, Whiteville’s two sporting goods stores placed orders for Padres gear to display alongside their Braves merchandise…enjoys hunting and golfing in his free time...wears jersey No. 1 because it was the number issued to him in high school when he was the smallest kid on the team; has stuck with it ever since.
2025
Selected as Washington’s Pitcher of the Year by the local chapter of the BBWAA and was voted to the 2025 All-Star Game via player voting – first career All-Star nod…set career highs in strikeouts (185) and quality starts (14), going 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA (74 ER/159.2 IP), 3.74 FIP and 1.353 WHIP in 30 games/ starts with Washington…the 185 strikeouts were the most by a Nationals pitcher since 2019 (251-Strasburg/243-Scherzer/238- Corbin)…led the staff in strikeouts, while making the second-most starts and tossing the third-most innings…made his first career Opening Day start on 3/27 vs. PHI, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out a career-high 13 batters…the 13 SO were a MON/WAS franchise record for a season opener as Gore became the just the second pitcher since 1900 to fan 13+ and allow no runs or walks on Opening Day, joining Hall-of-Famer Bob Gibson in 1967…matched his career high with another 13-SO effort on 4/19 at COL…on 5/29 at SEA, fanned Ben Williamson in the third for his 500th career strikeout… at 26 years, 94 days old, Gore became the second-youngest active pitcher at the time with 500+ strikeouts (CIN’s Hunter Greene – 163 days younger)…carried a 2.89 ERA (28 ER/87.1 IP) over his first 15 starts thru 6/15, as his 12 GS of 6.0+ IP in that stretch were tied for the N.L. lead…ranked among N.L. first half leaders in SO rate (second, 30.5%), SO (third, 138), FIP (seventh, 2.99), and ERA (10th, 3.02)…produced a scoreless fifth inning in the Midsummer Classic on 7/15 in Atlanta, needing just nine pitches to retire all three BF in order (J. Caminero, J. Báez, J. Wilson) – all via the groundout…saw worse results after the All-Star break, logging a 6.75 ERA (37 ER/49.1 IP) in 11 starts…issued a career-high-tying six BB on 7/25 at MIN…fanned double-digit batters for a third time on 8/10 at SF, racking up 10 SO in an 8-0 shutout win over the Giants – his lone victory of the second half…had two brief stints on the Injured List: 8/30-9/10 (left shoulder inflammation) and 9/23-end of season (right ankle impingement)…allowed two-or-fewer ER in 19 of his 30 GS, including one-or-zero ER in 10 GS…received just 3.44 runs of support per 9.0, the fifth-lowest mark in MLB (min. 150.0 IP)…was backed with two-or-fewer runs scored in 23 of his 30 starts…when receiving 3+ RS, was 4-1 with a 2.83 ERA in seven GS…was tougher on opposing left-handed batters, holding them to a .235/.294/.383/.677 (38-for-162) clip, while righties hit 259/.337/.409/.746 (114-for-440)…opposing base stealers were just 13-for-22 (59.1%) , the lowest mark for any N.L. left-hander and fourth-lowest among MLB lefties (min. 150.0 IP).
2024
Set career highs in strikeouts, starts and innings pitched while lowering his ERA and home run total in his second full season in Washington...Ranked in the National League in home runs per nine innings (fifth, 0.81) and strikeouts per nine innings (seventh, 9.79)...His 3.90 ERA was the lowest by a Nationals starting pitcher since 2019 (excluding 2020)...Started strong, posting a 2.91 ERA (19 ER/58.2 IP), 72 strikeouts and 17 walks in his first 11 starts of the season...Ranked fifth in MLB with a 1.55 ERA (seven ER/40.2 IP) from Aug. 23 to the end of the season...Opposing batters hit .181 against him over this stretch...His changeup produced a 51.2% whiff rate, fifth-best among all changeups in Major League Baseball...Matched a career high with 11 strikeouts on April 13 at Oakland (5 IP, four H, BB, 11 SO)...Took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Sept. 21 at Chicago (NL)...Struck out nine batters in seven innings of one-hit, one-run ball to earn the win...2024 pitch mix: four-seam (55.3%), curveball (19.6%), slider (14.3%), changeup (9.3%), sweeper (1.6%).
2023
Made a career-high 27 starts in his first season with the Nationals...Led the pitching staff with 151 strikeouts...Ranked seventh in the National League with 9.97 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (min. 135.0 IP)...Ranked among NL lefties in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (3rd, 9.97), strikeouts (5th, 151) and opponents’ average (5th, .258)…Started strong, going 3-2 with a 3.29 ERA (15 ER/41.0 IP), 51 strikeouts and 21 walks in his first eight starts...Recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts on May 28 at Kansas City...Facing his former club on June 25, struck out the first six batters and nine in total...The six strikeouts to begin a game was a franchise (MON/WSH) record...2023 Pitch Mix: 4-Seam (59.5%) Curveball (18.8%) Slider (18.2%) Changeup (2.9%) Sweeper (0.6%).
2022
Made his Major League debut with San Diego on April 15 vs. Atlanta (5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, HR, 2 BB, 3 SO)...Earned his first win in his next start, April 20 vs. Cincinnati (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 SO)...Struck out 10 batters, April 27 at Cincinnati and June 4 at Milwaukee... Was on the Injured List (left elbow inflammation) at the time of the trade.
2021
Made a total of 12 starts between El Paso (AAA), San Antonio (AA), Fort Wayne (A) and the Arizona Complex League (R), going 1-3 with a 3.93 ERA (22 ER, 50.1 IP) and 10.91 SO/9 IP...his 2.18 SO/BB (61/28) was a career-low...Began the season with ELP and made six starts for the Chihuahuas in May-June, going 0-2 with a 5.85 ERA (13 ER, 20.0 IP) with 18 SO against 12 BB (1.50 SO/BB ratio)... was his lowest SO/BB ratio at any stop in his MiLB career...Assigned to the ACL Padres on Aug. 19 to recover from blister issues and work through mechanical kinks...made three starts for the ACL Padres and went 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA (3 ER, 16.1 IP), 12.12 SO/9 IP and 5.50 SO/BB (22 SO/4 BB)...Transferred to FW on Sept. 3 and made one start Sept. 5 @ Great Lakes (5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO)...Finished his regular season campaign with 2 starts for SA, tossing a combined 9.0 innings of three-run ball, striking out 16 and walking eight with six hits allowed (.182 opp. AVG)...Following the season, made three starts for the Peoria Javelinas in three Arizona Fall League outings with a 6.35 ERA...Voted as having the best fastball in the Padres farm system in Baseball America's Best Tools survey, voted on by MLB executives, scouts and managers.
2020
Invited to ML Spring Training and made two app. (one start), allowing three runs across 1.2 IP (16.20 ERA)...Spent the season at the Padres' alternate training site and was added to the club's 40-man postseason player pool, but was not added to the roster for the Wild Card round or NLDS.
2019
Split the season between Lake Elsinore (A) and Amarillo (AA), going 9-2 with a 1.69 ERA (19 ER, 101.0 IP), 135 SO to 28 BB and a .164 opp. AVG across a career-high 20 starts...Earned several accolades along the way, including MiLB. com’s Staff Choice for Best Starting Pitcher, MLB Pipeline’s Pitcher of the Year and a Minor League and High Class-A All-Star selection by Baseball America...Went 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA and 110 SO to 20 BB while with the Storm, limiting CAL League hitters to a .137 AVG...Allowed more than 1 ER just once while with LE (2 ER on April 17 vs. Rancho Cucamonga)...Selected to the NL roster for the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in Cleveland…entered the game in the 2nd, issuing a leadoff walk to LAA’s prospect Jo Adell before picking him off trying to steal 2nd base…he then recorded 2 straight outs, throwing 11 pitches total…combined with fellow Padres prospects Adrian Morejon (1.0 IP, 2 H) and Luis Patiño (1.2 IP, 3 SO) for 3.2 scoreless IP...Promoted to AMA on July 9 and made 5 starts, going 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA (10 ER, 21.2 IP)…7 of his 10 ER allowed at the Double-A level came in a single outing (July 19 vs. Northwest Arkansas). .. The organization gave Gore a break from competitive innings to manage his workload early in August...continued to pitch on a semi-regular schedule on the side for the rest of the month before returning to make his final start of the campaign on August 27 vs. Tulsa (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER).
2018
Made 16 starts for Fort Wayne (A), going 2-5 with a 4.45 ERA (30 ER, 60.2 IP) in a season that was beset by blisters and multiple trips to the 7-day disabled list...Made his full-season debut for the TinCaps on April 10, but was placed on the 7-day DL on April 13...Activated from the DL on May 8 and made 2 more starts before being placed on the 7-day DL again on May 22...Activated from the DL on June 10 and made 13 consecutive starts (2-4, 3.59 ERA) before being placed on the DL again on Aug. 22 and not making another start in 2018.
2017
Started 7 games for the AZL Padres (R), posting a 1.27 ERA and striking out 34 over 21.1 IP…limited AZL hitters to a .184 AVG but did not exceed more than 4.0 IP in any start.
