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MacKenzie Gore struggles, but Nationals beat Reds

When it was over, MacKenzie Gore stared at the scoreboard and bowed his head. His gray Washington Nationals jersey was a shade darker than when he had walked onto the mound 20 minutes earlier, a sign of the effort required to get through a disastrous start to his second half of the season.

It took 48 pitches — 26 strikes and 22 balls — for Gore’s first inning to be complete. Had he not struck out Noelvi Marte of the Cincinnati Reds to end the threat, his Saturday night likely would have ended there. Still, his departure was sure to come quickly. Gore lasted just two innings and left with his team trailing, but the Nationals rallied to a 5-4 victory thanks to Jacob Young’s RBI single in the eighth.

Saturday marked the second time in Washington’s last four games that a starter threw at least 40 pitches in the first inning. Mitchell Parker didn’t make it through the first on July 13 in Milwaukee, but the bullpen shined as the Nationals pulled off a 6-5 win on C.J. Abrams’ go-ahead homer in the ninth. On Saturday at Nationals Park, the Nationals (46-53) staged a comeback. This time, Young, who had a pitch hit his knee earlier in the game, hit a two-out single in the eighth to help Washington secure a series win over the Reds (47-52).

Still, it was a disappointing outing for Gore. The 25-year-old left-handed pitcher allowed two hits, four walks and surrendered three runs on his bobblehead night as his rough July continued. He threw 67 pitches; only 37 were strikes.

For Gore to step up as a top-of-the-rotation arm, he needs to eliminate bad outings like Saturday’s. He showed he can be elite with a 2.91 ERA and a 72-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio through the first two months of the season. Then he had to prove he could sustain that for an entire season.

Gore’s ERA by month: 3.19 in April, 2.60 in May, 5.13 in June and 6.59 in July through Saturday. He had allowed four or more runs in three of his four previous starts before the All-Star break. The frustration was evident in the deep, exasperated sighs he let out in the clubhouse after each start.

“I didn’t pitch well and if I don’t do better we’ll continue to have these difficult conversations,” he said after his final start before halftime.

On Saturday, he led off with seven straight balls before a strike drew sarcastic cheers from the crowd. His first inning went like this: four-pitch walk, six-pitch walk, nine-pitch strikeout, four-pitch RBI single, seven-pitch walk, 10-pitch RBI sacrifice fly, eight-pitch strikeout.

The Reds fouled off 16 pitches, including 11 fastballs. Gore threw just one first-pitch strike. After all that, the Nationals trailed 2-0. But in the bottom half, Harold Ramírez hit his first home run as a National, a two-run homer to center field that tied the score.

Even with a second chance, Gore couldn’t salvage his outing. He recorded the first two outs of the second inning, then walked Jonathan India for the second time. Elly De La Cruz followed with an RBI double to give the Reds the lead again, and they advanced to third on a James Wood error in left field. A groundout kept the Nationals’ deficit at 3-2. The end of the inning left Gore’s July ERA at 7.47. His struggles have coincided with command issues — he has 13 hits in 15⅔ innings this month.

But just like a week earlier, Washington’s bullpen provided the necessary support. Jordan Weems allowed a solo homer to Tyler Stephenson in the third inning, but Robert Garcia, Dylan Floro and Derek Law did not allow a run over five innings. And the Nationals fought back again — Abrams hit an RBI infield single in the fourth and Lane Thomas added a tying double in the seventh before Young’s single brought in Ildemaro Vargas in the eighth. All-star Kyle Finnegan retired the side in order in the ninth for his 27th save as the Nationals put Gore’s ugly start behind them.

‘Dead arm’ for Cavalli

Manager Dave Martinez said right-hander Cade Cavalli (recovering from Tommy John surgery) had a “dead arm” after his rehab start for high Class A Wilmington on June 21. He then came down with the flu before he was scheduled to make his next rehab start in early July, which is why he hasn’t pitched in nearly a month.

The team plans to send Cavalli back to Florida to get back on track quickly. When Cavalli gets there, Martinez said, he will start from scratch, pitching from flat ground and building his way back into competition.