The left-hander had pitched himself into trouble in the second frame, allowing a single to Tim Anderson before hitting Dane Myers with a pitch, then uncorking a wild pitch that allowed each to advance. With two outs, Nick Fortes reached on an infield single when Nick Senzel’s throw from behind the third base bag was late, allowing the game’s first run to score.
“Probably got to do a better job of getting rid of it with a better throw,” Senzel said. “Maybe a little lackadaisical. So that was on me.”
A frustrated Gore cursed to himself, then blew three straight angry fastballs over 97 mph past Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the inning. Emotions then spilled into the dugout. Senzel and Gore traded words before Senzel pushed Gore and the two had to be separated. Gore was escorted by Jesse Winker back into the tunnel.
After the game, neither Senzel, Gore nor Manager Dave Martinez tied the incident to any specific play. In the clubhouse, emotions seemed to cool; Gore and Senzel were friendly as they walked by each other. The trio all said they were keeping details of the incident in-house and had put it in the past. When asked explicitly whether they had moved past it, Gore laughed and said yes.
“We’ve handled it in here,” Gore said. “The biggest thing is that — that was something that I can’t do, but I’m going to leave it at that.”
“We worked it out internally, and what stays in here stays in here, and that’s really all there is to it,” Senzel said. “We’re competitors.”
“I don’t know if you have any brothers — I fought my brothers every day,” Martinez said. “It’s part of it. When you’re around each other a little bit, I love it, it’s the competitive nature of them. What they did after that was awesome. The rest of it will stay in our circle. … I’ve been on some really good teams where guys get after it, and everything was okay.”
The tension seemed to dissipate in the inning that followed, perhaps helped by the fact that Jacob Young, CJ Abrams, Lane Thomas, Winker, Eddie Rosario, Joey Meneses and Luis García Jr. all stepped to the plate in the third before an out was made.
Young and Abrams singled before Thomas crushed a first-pitch fastball 379 feet and was greeted by Ildemaro Vargas with a cartoonish red, white and blue top hat (think Uncle Sam). Winker legged out an infield single and Rosario doubled before Meneses laced a single that scored them both. And García’s single was followed by the first out before the Nationals loaded the bases and struck again for two more runs on Abrams’s second single of the frame.
“They’re just two competitive dudes, and I think on good teams, that stuff happens,” Thomas said before joking about the moment. “It kind of fired me up. I don’t know. I thought we had a good inning after that. So maybe we need a little more.”
And while Martinez often implores his team to be aggressive, it had never worked quite this well: The Nationals’ seven batters saw just 15 pitches in the third before García’s single knocked Marlins right-hander Shaun Anderson from the game. Huascar Brazoban relieved the righty, who was making his first start since 2019.
“All of a sudden we clear the air, and here we go,” Martinez said.
During the onslaught, Gore and Senzel were seen hugging in the dugout and the positive vibes appeared to return. The Nationals (33-36) have won six of seven and are 5-0 against the Marlins (23-46). Winker poked one more run across in the sixth with a single.
Gore was otherwise electric against the Marlins, matching a season high with seven innings, allowing just five hits and that lone run. In the sixth, he even had a moment when he fielded a soft grounder and misfired a throw to García that deflected off the second baseman’s glove and into the outfield. Gore tapped his chest a few times to signal that it was his fault, saw that García wasn’t looking, waited a few more seconds for him to turn around and tapped his chest again.
An inning later, he finished on a high note when Martinez sent him back out to the mound at 90 pitches and with no one warming up. With two outs, he threw three straight pitches out of the zone to Chisholm. On his fourth pitch, Chisholm began walking to first before it reached the plate. It was called a strike, and three pitches later, he was the victim of Gore’s final strikeout as the lefty got his career-best 25th swing and miss of the game. Gore then exited to a standing ovation.
Notes: After the game, Martinez said first baseman Joey Gallo suffered a significant hamstring strain and will be out for a while. He did not offer a more specific time table. …
Right-hander Josiah Gray (strained right flexor muscle near his forearm) made his second rehab start and first with Class AA Harrisburg, tossing four innings and allowing four hits and one run with no walks and two strikeouts. The plan was for Gray to mix in his entire seven-pitch arsenal. …
As the Nationals hoped earlier in the week, right-hander Cade Cavalli will throw a live bullpen session Saturday as he works his way back from Tommy John surgery 15 months ago. Martinez said the team will evaluate his status afterward, but that Cavalli’s next rehab start should be “pretty soon.” He threw 95 to 98 mph with ease in a recent bullpen session and felt good, Martinez said. He has not made a rehab start since May 30. …
On Monday, lefty reliever Jose A. Ferrer will throw his first live bullpen session, expected to be limited to 15 to 20 fastballs, since being placed on the 60-day injured list with a right shoulder strain in March.
Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
