Marlins stymied by Gore once more, lose 95th

[Louis Addeo-Weiss]

A pair of James Wood homers and strong Mackenzie Gore hand Marlins another series loss despite a close call in ninth.

Undeniably talented as a former No. 3 overall draft pick, Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore has yet to show his full potential, pitching to a career 4.40 ERA entering Sunday's start. When facing the 2024 Miami Marlins, though, the hard-throwing southpaw has looked more like Steve Carlton than JP Sears. 

After limiting the Fish to one unearned run over 6 innings in Washington's 4-3 win over Miami, Gore now owns a 2.22 ERA across 4 career starts against them. This season alone, Gore allowed just two earned runs over his 19 innings pitched. That 0.95 ERA is tied for the fifth-lowest by any pitcher with a minimum of three starts against a single opponent.

With the win, the Nationals conclude the season 11-2 against Miami, finishing with an all-time best .846 winning percentage against them. That dominance was largely fueled by their pitching staff, which collectively posted a 2.07 ERA (another single-season record for this NL East rivalry). 

 

Across the Diamond

Looking to right the ship following a two-start stretch where he allowed 10 earned runs, Adam Oller kept it close, surrendering three runs over his five innings of work. With several questions surrounding the state of the Marlins rotation headed into 2025, Oller could be doing just enough to stick with the organization entering next spring training.

Allowing just one hit his first time through the order, the Nationals tacked on runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a lead they would not relinquish. 

Another name to keep tabs on as we turn the page to next season, Jonah Bride, continued his own personal carpe diem, racking up a pair of hits including his seventh home run of the season in the top of the seventh. Since the start of play on July 4, Bride has hit .270/.359/.431/.790 over 206 plate appearances.

Bride's second run of the day would contribute to a ninth-inning rally by Miami before Nick Fortes flew out to James Wood to end the game. 

Two days shy of his 22nd birthday, Wood penned his first career multi-HR game. Both were no-doubters with projected distances of 435 feet and 426 feet.

Notable in Wood's second blast was the fact that it marked the first allowed this season by Declan Cronin, a span of 282 plate appearances. Cronin was three batters short of matching Kelvin Herrera's 2014 mark of 285 hitters faced without allowing a home run, which remains the most in baseball over the past decade. 

 

Looking Ahead

Upon departing D.C. and concluding a 1-6 road trip, the Marlins (55-95) travel back to Miami to commence their final homestand of the season. Resuming play against the Dodgers on Tuesday, the Fish will send Darren McCaughan (0-0, 7.06 ERA) to the mound in the series opener. McCaughan is coming off a previous outing that saw him go a season-best 5 innings, allowing 3 runs and taking a no-decision against the Nationals on September 12.

First pitch from loanDepot park is slated for 6:40 EST.

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