In case you were unable to watch the Washington Nationals Opening Day game due to the travesty and total embarrassment by Major League Baseball in that their premier streaming service, MLB TV, was not working, MacKenzie Gore was absolutely masterful on Thursday afternoon. One could argue that Thursday's start against a potential World Series contender in the Philadelphia Phillies was the best start of his career, and there is a reason why I am all in on Gore putting it all together this season.
Gore made MLB history by becoming just the second pitcher to allow no runs and no walks on Opening Day while striking out 13 batters, joining Hall-of-Famer Bob Gibson in this rarified air. While the Nationals bullpen unfortunately was unable to get Gore a well-deserved win, the masterful performance was a true showcase of what he is capable of when he is firing on all cylinders, and perhaps the only logical thing to do today is to thank San Diego Padres' General Manager AJ Preller.
Of course, as many of you know by now, Gore was one of the many pieces that the Nationals received in return for superstar outfielder Juan Soto back in 2022, and most of the pieces the club received back in that trade have now made their way to the big leagues. Gore of course got his first Opening Day start, CJ Abrams and James Wood are firmly entrenched as cornerstones of the franchise moving forward, and prospects Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana showed their tremendous upsides as well, and there is a non-zero chance that every piece the Nationals received in return for Soto makes the big leagues by the end of the 2025 season.
Now, Soto's time in San Diego was not a complete waste, as he did help guide the club to an NLCS appearance in 2022, where they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, however, Soto would be traded to the New York Yankees following the 2023 season for a return that was centered around righty Michael King. Coming into the 2025 season, King was given the Opening Day start for the Padres, and his results were not nearly as great as Gore's on Thursday.
Only Opening Day pitchers in MLB history to allow no runs and no walks while striking out 13 batters:
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 28, 2025
Bob Gibson (1967) and MacKenzie Gore (2025) pic.twitter.com/lKeTejNP6w
King struggled through only 2.2 innings of work, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs while walking 4 batters and striking out just 3 hitters in his limited start. While his team did earn the victory, the Padres really won in spite of King's struggles, not because of them.
Although it's just one game, and I'm sure the Padres will find a way to have a better record than the Nationals in 2025, given the fact that both Gore and King, 2 young pitchers who were given Opening Day starts for the first time in their careers, had such different results, it is clear that the Nationals have the early leg up in terms of deciding who won their trade of Juan Soto. Of course, Soto is now the richest man in baseball after signing his historic deal with the New York Mets this offseason, and both the Nationals and Padres are left wondering what could have been if they had retained Soto.
Fortunately for the Nationals, Gore's performance at least set the stage for what should hopefully be a true breakout season in 2025, while King's performance left baseball fans and Padres fans everywhere with more questions than answers after his shaky start.
Do you think the Nationals return for Juan Soto was better than the Padres return? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.