Washington Nationals starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) pitches against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park on April 13. Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

MacKenzie Gore Re-Writes History Books in Domination of Colorado Rockies

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Apr 20, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 12-11 on Saturday afternoon at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

The Nationals led 12-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning before the Rockies scored seven times to make it very interesting.

However, before that happened, the story of the game was the performance of left-hander MacKenzie Gore on the mound. The team ace went six innings, surrendering just two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out 13, moving to 2-2 with the win.

His performance made some rare history as well, according to @JayHayKid of Underdog Fantasy:

MacKenzie Gore is the 2nd left-hander in MLB history to post multiple 13-K starts within his team’s first 20 games of a season, joining Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in 1972.

MacKenzie Gore is the 2nd left-hander in MLB history to post multiple 13-K starts within his team’s first 20 games of a season, joining Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in 1972.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 19, 2025

The 26-year-old Gore also had a dominant start on Opening Day. Lifetime, he's 23-28 with a 4.15 ERA. Originally a first-round pick of the San Diego Padres (2017), Gore came to Washington in the 2022 trade that sent Juan Soto to the Padres.

The Nationals are 8-12 on the season and in fourth place in the National League East while the Rockies are 3-16 and own the worst record in baseball.

The two teams will play again on Sunday with first pitch coming at 3:10 p.m. ET. Right-hander Jake Irvin takes the ball for Washington against Rockies' left-hander Kyle Freeland.

Irvin is 1-0 with a 3.91 ERA while Freeland is 0-3 with a 4.88 ERA.

Washington is off for a travel day on Monday.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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