Luis García Jr. hit a three-run home run, MacKenzie Gore pitched his longest outing of the season, going seven innings, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Seattle Mariners 6-1 on Friday night.
Keibert Ruiz also contributed with a two-run homer and a single, while Eddie Rosario added a solo shot for the Nationals, who had only won one of their previous eight games.
“We need to focus on putting the ball in play and swinging aggressively,” remarked Nationals manager Dave Martinez. “, our hitters did a good job tonight. They were disciplined at the plate and made solid contact. We had some quality at-bats.”
Gore (3-4) conceded just one run and four hits, striking out eight and issuing one walk over 98 pitches.
J.P. Crawford homered to lead off the game, marking the 10th time he’s done so in his Major League career, and also singled for the Mariners, who are now on a three-game losing streak.
Seattle struggled to generate offense again, scoring only one run for the third time in their last five games. They were held to five hits or fewer for the 13th time this season. Additionally, the Mariners struck out 10 times, bringing their total to 529 strikeouts this season, the highest in the majors.
“We’ve been having difficulty facing starting pitchers lately, and that’s something we need to improve upon,” commented manager Scott Servais. “Winning games with low scores like 1-0 or 2-1, especially on the road, is challenging. We need to be more productive with our hitting.”
After Crawford’s home run, Gore retired 15 of the next 17 batters. “You never want to give up a home run to start the game, but you just have to refocus and move on to the next batter,” Gore stated. “It’s important to stay composed and not dwell on what’s already happened.”
George Kirby (4-5) surrendered five runs and six hits over six innings, issuing just his sixth walk of the season in 62 1/3 innings.
Kirby retired the first nine batters he faced on 24 pitches before CJ Abrams broke the streak with a single to lead off the fourth inning. One out later, Joey Meneses singled, setting the stage for García’s three-run blast on the first pitch he saw, extending the Nationals’ lead to 3-1.
