Washington Nationals MacKenzie Gore is the best 3-8 pitcher in baseball

MacKenzie Gore has pitched like an ace for the Washington Nationals, but the team is not winning much when he pitches

After years of anticipation, MacKenzie Gore has finally turned into the ace Nationals fans knew he had the talent to become. He is second in baseball in strikeouts, top 10 in innings pitched and has a sparkling 3.09 ERA in 17 starts. However, Gore’s dominance is not translating into wins for the Nationals.

While win/loss record is a highly outdated statistic. Nowadays, most baseball fans realize this. Guys like Jacob Degrom putting up dominant stats while not winning many games shows why the stat is not very useful. However, the fact that MacKenzie Gore is 3-8 on the season is eyebrow raising.

Despite pitcher wins being an outdated metric, this number is actually quite useful when evaluating the Nationals. It shows how awful the teams offense has been when Gore starts. The Nats have scored either zero or one run in five of Gore’s 17 starts this season. Gore can be totally dominant and be stuck with a no decision or loss when that happens.

This is exactly what happened yesterday. Gore had a fabulous start where he gave up one run in six innings. The one run he gave up was also in part due to Riley Adams being unable to block a pitch he had a chance at keeping in front of him.

However, Nick Pivetta was just a little bit better than Gore yesterday. He went 7 scoreless with 10 strikeouts. The Padres bullpen also did their job, which gave Gore the loss. This has been a pattern all year, especially lately.

In his last 7 starts, MacKenzie Gore is 1-4 with a 2.32 ERA. That is just ridiculous misfortune. Only once in those seven starts did Gore really deserve to lose, his Dodgers start where he gave up five earned runs. In his other three losses, Gore allowed a combined four runs in 18 innings.

The only people you can blame for Gore’s win loss record are the players on the Nationals offense. They have not done enough to support their ace. Yes, there are excuses you can point to. Based on where he lines up in the rotation, Gore faces off against a disproportionate number of good pitchers.

Since most aces start on Opening Day, a lot of them are on similar schedules and pitch on the same day a decent amount. Yesterday was one of those days. Paul Skenes, Gore, Logan Webb, Zack Wheeler, Max Fried and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all pitched yesterday.

However, the fact Gore is 3-8 is still a massive indictment on the Nats offense. He is giving the team every chance to win these games, but they are not coming through. While pitchers these days are not as focused on win/loss record, it still has to be frustrating for Gore. He is a competitive guy who wants to win games. Gore is holding up his end of the bargain, but his teammates are not.

While we are harping on the win/loss record here, I want to make sure to let everyone know how good Gore has really been. His ERA sits at a very good 3.09, but there are some signs it could even be a little bit better.

His FIP sits at 2.91 and his xFIP is at 2.95. He ranks 8th in WAR among pitchers due to his strikeout artistry and his ability to go fairly deep in games. Gore’s strikeouts are at a career high and his walks are at a career low.

One thing I have been particularly encouraged by is the fact he has continued to dominate into June. In the past, Gore tended to hit a wall around Memorial Day. Last year Gore hit a second wind at the end of the year, but that only just got his ERA under 4.

However, he has been strong in June this year. In his five June starts, Gore has a 2.93 ERA. While the strikeouts are slightly down this month, he is allowing less hard contact and walking fewer guys.

Despite the fact he is 3-8, MacKenzie Gore has established himself as an ace. He is getting the job done start after start, rarely having an off night. Gore has had a couple less than stellar starts, but he has always found a way to follow them up with a strong one, something he struggled to do in the past.

It is very cool to see a young pitcher find himself and slowly develop into an ace over the years. Sometimes pitchers either come into the league dominating or just suddenly break out. Gore did neither of those things. Instead, he has steadily gotten better every single year. He is always finding a way to bring something new to the table. Last year he had increased velocity, this year he added a slider to get lefties out.

Who knows what he will bring to the table in the future. Maybe it is the ability to convince his hitters to give him more run support. While we know win/loss record is outdated, it is refreshing for everyone to acknowledge that MacKenzie Gore is a fantastic pitcher despite being 3-8. Even a decade ago, saying something like that could cause a stir. However, we know it is not Gore’s fault the Nats offense can’t hit when he starts. He is doing everything in his power to win games, but his teammates are letting him down.