Washington Nationals 'Want to Pick up' Ace After Failing in Latest Shutout

The Washington Nationals lost to the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night in a 1-0 defeat that encapsulates the frustration of their season.

Why was it frustrating? Because it's a repeat of a common theme for the Nationals: MacKenzie Gore pitches an absolutely amazing game and Washington fails to take advantage on offense.

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Gore put together a six-inning, six-strikeout outing, allowing the Padres' only run with an RBI single from Luis Arraez.

The Nationals have now scored just 10 runs of support in Gore's last seven outings. His ERA sits at 3.09 with 129 strikeouts.

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"They wanted to pick him up, I know that," manager Dave Martinez said in comments conveyed by MASN Nationals. "They were out there grinding. Like I said, (Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta) was pretty good today, we just couldn't pick up a couple runs for him."

Pivetta dominated the Nationals with seven innings and 10 strikeouts.

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Washington has now lost seven straight series and sits in last place in the competitive National League East. It looked like the team had figured out their offense with James Wood and CJ Abrams finally finding a way to lead the charge.

But even as those two continue to be excellent, it is not translating to wins. Martinez understands the negativity of the moment, but is not worried.

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"Overall, I think we've been played a lot better," Martinez iterated. "We're in every game....We're one hit away. We're one play away. But we gotta keep grinding, we gotta keep up with the energy. The energy was good today, it really was."

That won't get any easier for the Nationals, who have to face the ascending offense of the Los Angeles Angels, the MLB-leading Detroit Tigers, and the Boston Red Sox, who are far from dead despite their recent losing streak.

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