Looking at how the aces of the Nationals and Phillies stack up and how they have fared against each other
As is normally the case on Opening Day, the aces of both the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies will take the mound. However, Zack Wheeler and Mackenzie Gore are very different pitchers with different track records.
Zack Wheeler is one of the premier pitchers in the sport and has been for some time. Since coming to Philadelphia in 2020, he has posted a 2.94 ERA across 829.1 innings. He finished second in Cy Young voting last year and has been ultra-reliable. In an era where so many pitchers have gotten hurt, Wheeler has averaged 190 innings a season over the last four years. The Phillies ace has also eclipsed the 200 inning milestone twice in that time.
However, he has not had the most success against the Nats. In 35 career starts against them, he has a 4.45 ERA. While some of that comes from his Mets days when he wasn’t as good and the Nats lineup was more fearsome, he has had his share of rocky starts against the Nationals in recent years. In 2023, the Nats had his number, with Wheeler posting a 7.48 ERA against the Nationals that year. However, he had more success last year.
There are plenty of Nats who have hit Wheeler well over their careers. Josh Bell and Paul DeJong have had a lot of success against the Phillies ace, with career OPS marks over 1.000. Will Wheeler be at his Cy Young level best, or will the Nats continue to give him trouble?
Mackenzie Gore is much less proven than Wheeler, but he is an arm on the rise. In a lot of ways, he is like Wheeler when he was on the Mets. You can see the talent, but there is also a lot of inconsistency. Gore had his best year in 2024, posting a 3.90 ERA across 166.1 innings. It was a big step forward for the long time top prospect. He had a big slump in the middle of the season, but he righted the ship down the stretch which gives me optimism for 2025.
Gore has a spotty track record against a good Phillies team over recent years. He has a 4.96 ERA in 45.1 innings against the Fightin Phils. However, he had success against them last year with a 3.42 ERA against the Phillies in four starts.
Nick Castellanos has given Gore issues over his career, with the veteran right hander posting a 1.050 OPS with two homers in 20 at bats against our ace. However, Gore has held Bryce Harper in check, with the former Nat only putting up a .609 OPS in his 23 AB’s against Gore.
This should be a fun matchup between an established ace and a young arm on the rise. Mackenzie Gore wants to get to the level Zack Wheeler is right now, and he has the talent to get there. Wheeler is looking to finally grab that Cy Young that has alluded him over the years. This will be a great pitching matchup to open the season.