Washington Nationals news & notes: MacKenzie Gore struggles in 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels…

Goa walks four. In 3 2/3 overs he throws 88 pitches:

Mackenzie Gore got a lot of support from his teammates as he had 19 hits and 10 runs in the club’s 10-5 win. Colorado Rockies At Coors Field, the 24-year-old lefty earned his second victory, finishing his first two games with a 2.38 ERA, a 4.01 FIP and a .205/.311/.282 line. Start and 11 ¹⁄₃ The number of innings pitched this season.

“That’s amazing,” he said of the 8-run support he received during the game. [home run] I can’t beat you You just walked out and yeah the offense did it again.

Gore helped stop a four-game slide, earning his second win in two starts, and the Nats’ second win in eight in the season to that point.

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

However, he dismissed the idea of establishing himself as the team’s rotation stopper.

“I think everyone here can do that,” Gore explained. “But now we can win.

: I played really well today. We played well the other day when I pitched. Now we have to figure out how to do it consistently and reinforce each other. We won yesterday, so let’s do it again today. is trying to reach

“Anyone can be a stopper. So far, this method has worked for me.”

Spoken like a real stopper.

Gore didn’t last long at starting number three, but struggled to throw strikes (53 of 88) and walked four of the 18 batters he faced in the third inning. ²⁄₃ In the IP, he gave up 4 hits and 2 earned runs.

The southpaw walked the first batter in the 1st, 3rd and 4th innings and hit a leadoff single in the 2nd inning.

Leadoff walk on home half of third put los angeles angelsWith center fielder Brett Phillips on base, he stole second, then third, and scored on a throwing error by catcher Keibert Lewis in a 1–0 LA win.

Gore’s outing gave up four walks in the game with the bases loaded, giving up two outs in the four home halves, striking out two after the Angels loaded them, but missing on a 3-2 fastball to Phillips. After that, I finished. to force a second run which he allowed after the Knotts rallied to take a 2–1 lead in the top of the inning.

The starter looked surprised when the manager came out of the dugout to steal the ball, but admitted after the game that it made sense.

“When throwing 88 in 3 ²⁄₃you’re going to take a shower early,” admitted Gore, Words by Mark Zuckerman of MASN After losing 3-2 in the finale at Angel Stadium.

“I think he didn’t realize how many pitches he threw,” Martinez said of Gore’s early reaction to the hook. I’m not going to leave him like that. ”

Summarizing Gore’s struggles on the road, Skipper said it was simple. “Mackenzie couldn’t throw strikes consistently today,” Martinez told reporters.

“He threw some pretty close pitches. I mean, he was around the plate, but they weren’t strikes. So it’s just one of those days. It was increasing, so I had to kick him out of there.

“But he’s got five days left before he’s back, so after the game I said to him, ‘Hey, you’re throwing the ball well… you have to keep the ball in the whiteovers. Players. We hit the ball and the defense worked really well, so let’s come back in five days and try again.”

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After losing back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Angels and winning the series opener in Anaheim, the Nationals wrapped up a 3-4 six-game road trip to Colorado and Anaheim after dropping 5-of-6 in the season-opening homestand. rice field. Early this month.

Davey Martinez’s ball club played baseball in its first outing of the year and spoke about how his team has stepped up after a rough start to the 2023 campaign.

“I think we played really well,” the sixth-year skipper said after the Nationals split a four-game set against the Rockies and dropped two of three to the Angels.

“We were in every game [on the road trip]’ he continued. So we had to keep working on it, but the boys are fighting. Proud of the way they go out and play games. We are playing with a lot of energy and that can be seen by everyone, so we have to keep fighting. We took the day off tomorrow. I’ll be back on Friday with a much needed day off. ”

Running, running, running:

At Tuesday’s pregame press conference, the Nationals’ stealing of three stolen bases (one by CJ Abrams and two by Victor Robles) from Angels rookie catcher Logan Ohoppe on Monday night meant that the young backstop was on the line. I was asked if it was a test or a sign of the road. His club will play a game this season, Davey Martinez said it’s the way Washington has to play if the ball club is to be competitive this year.

“That’s how we play down – we have to be a little bit – push the boundaries a little bit and play the game the right way, but we try to make things happen.” he explained.

As to whether it was part of a league-wide shift toward more running, Martinez echoed what he said earlier this season, and that Major League Baseball’s rule changes for 2023 were designed with this in mind. and the Nationals are just reacting to it.

“With all the rule changes, they wanted more stolen bases and wanted their players to run more,” he said. “We are very athletic, so we try to use it as much as we can. But believe me, I love three-run home runs more than anyone else, but we put the ball in play and scored as many points as possible. And, as I said, we band together to take long base when we can.”

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