Aug 15, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Nationals Park. Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

MacKenzie Gore’s Last Two Starts Prove Nationals Decision To Keep Him Wise

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Maddy Dickens | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 2:30 PM ET

MacKenzie Gore was a starting pitcher that the Washington Nationals were seriously considering parting ways with at the trade deadline. There were many teams trying to acquire him, but the organization didn't feel like the offers that they had received were enough to let him go.

Well, it looks like they made the right call to keep him. He is not having a great overall season, but recently, he has been fantastic.

In his last two games, he has faced both the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants- a pair of teams having far better years than the Nationals this year. In that time, he has gone 1-0, pitched 12 full innings, struck out 17 batters, walked three, and had two earned runs. That is phenomenal.

Gore's Career in the Majors

The 26-year-old still has a lot of time left in professional baseball as he only made his debut back in April of 2022 with the San Diego Padres before he was traded in a block buster deal that sent him to the Nationals. The lefty has been with the Nats ever since and is arguably posting one of his lesser years of his short career.

This season he is 5-12 in 25 starts with a 4.04 ERA. Gore has only posted one season where he has an earned-run average under 4.00 and that was last year (3.90), but this year has been far from good for the entirety of the Nats squad. If he is able to keep this ball rolling then he could be looking at a bigger contract when his one-year deal is up.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Nationals Pitching Staff This Season

Washington has had their problems on the mound this season to say the least. They are second-worst in baseball in ERA, earned runs, runs, and opponents' batting average, trailing only the historically poor Colorado Rockies. The Nationals sold out a good chunk of their starting rotation and bullpen at the trade deadline, so others are getting the chance to step up, like Brad Lord.

Lord has been able to step into the starting rotation out of the bullpen. He has made three starts this month, gone 1-1 and completed over 16 innings for the Nationals. He has had 14 strikeouts, five walks, and six earned runs in those starts. Between Lord and Gore this is the most solid they have looked. The Nationals have won four of their last seven and are looking to keep the ball rolling in the 1-1 series they are in against the Phillies.