WASHINGTON, DC-Fans of every team expect a win to begin the season. It didn’t turn out that way for most of the sell-out crowd at Nats Park. Things looked promising through six innings as MacKenzie Gore struck out 13 Philadelphia hitters, a career high.
Talking about Gore’s start, Manager Davey Martinez said, “I can’t say enough about what he did today. He was great. We just couldn’t finish.”
Zach Wheeler, for the visitors, was almost as dominant. It was the kind of game where if you blinked, you’d miss something. The shadows of a 4:05 p.m. start aided both pitchers, making it nearly impossible to see high, out-of-the-zone fastballs.
But the Nats broke through in the fifth, scoring their first run of the season on a towering home run by Keibert Ruiz. That, for Nats fans, was perhaps the brightest moment of the day.
With Gore done and in the dugout for the seventh, Philadelphia found their way back into the game. Two ex-Nats, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, hit a home run, each off of a different reliever. Before his third at-bat, when boos rained down from the stands, Harper had been 0-2.
In the eighth, Max Kepler scored on a wild pitch by Jose A. Ferrer, stretching the Phillies lead to 3-1.
In the bottom of the inning, the Nats offense came to life. Dylan Crews and Jacob Young pulled off a double steal to get into scoring position. Crews scored when CJ Abrams grounded out to first. On a 2-2 slider by Jordan Romano, Luis Garcia hit a single to center, bringing Young home and tying the game, 3-3.
It would go to extras at that score. And that is where the wheels fell off the wagon for the home team. And it all started with a walk of Harper. Philadelphia scored four runs in the inning, ruining Gore’s masterful start.
With no game Friday, the Nats have a little longer to stew over this one. The 7-3 score doesn’t reflect how well most of the game was played. And the team showed tremendous fight. This is only one game. There are 161 more.
Click HERE to view highlights and the box score.
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