Mackenzie Gore had one of the best starts of his career, but was tagged with a no decision
Mackenzie Gore was utterly dominant in six shutout innings where he struck out 13 and walked nobody. He was in cruise control throughout, only allowing one baserunner who was later caught on the base paths. Through six innings, Gore faced the minimum. However, he did not get a whole lot of help from the offense or the bullpen.
Through the early innings, Zack Wheeler and Mackenzie Gore were matching zeros. Aided by the shadows which made hitting tough, hitters were having trouble making any contact. The Nats started their season with five strikeouts in the first six batters.
Through the first four innings, there was not even a threat of any runs scoring. However, Keibert Ruiz changed that in the fifth. On the 12th pitch of the at bat, the Nats catcher deposited a ball into the right field bullpen to take the lead.
Meanwhile, Gore was still dealing. Between the second and fifth innings, only two Phillies put the ball in play. All and all, Mackenzie Gore was utterly dominant. He looked like an ace out there. This start was the best of his young career. Gore joined the great Bob Gibson as the only pitcher to ever have 13 strikeouts with no walks or runs on Opening Day in the history of baseball.
However, the Nationals did not give Gore the support he deserved. The second he was out of the game, the Phillies bats woke up. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber went deep in the 7th to make it a 2-1 Phillies lead. All of Mackenzie Gore’s brilliance was wasted.
However, in the bottom of the 7th the Nats rallied. They got two on with one out, but could not drive anyone home. Paul DeJong, who had a golden sombrero on the day struck out, and then Keibert Ruiz grounded out on the pitch after he swung at a ball that hit him.
With the Phillies adding an insurance run in the 8th, hope seemed lost. However, the Nats showed off some of their signature scrap. Dylan Crews walked and then Jacob Young was hit. The two speedsters then pulled off a sweet double steal.
CJ Abrams would drive in Crews on an RBI groundout. Then with two outs, Luis Garcia Jr. delivered dropping in an RBI knock to tie the game. The game got to extra innings after an incredibly stressful top of the ninth by Kyle Finnegan.
The Nats got the first two outs pretty easily. However, after a Bryce Harper walk the wheels fell off. Davey Martinez did not play the matchups, leaving lefty Colin Poche in the game to face righty Alec Bohm despite having Eduardo Salazar in the bullpen. Bohm made him pay with a two run double.
The Phillies would add a couple more runs on a misplay by Dylan Crews. It would have been a good catch, but one he has to make at the MLB level. With the game at 7-3, the oxygen was sucked out of the stadium, except for the large Philly contingent. The Nats went quietly into the night in the bottom of the 10th, losing 7-3.
There were a lot of positives and negatives in this game. Mackenzie Gore looked like a Cy Young contender, and Keibert Ruiz looked solid. However, a lot of the lineup struggled and the bullpen was a disaster. But hey, let’s go 1-0 on Saturday!