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HOUSTON – The Nationals’ final ballgame before the 2025 trade deadline offered a stark reminder why they’re in full-scale sell mode for the fifth straight year.
Despite the presence of their ace on the mound and an unaccomplished rookie starting for the opposition, the Nats were roughed up by the Astros during a 9-1 blowout loss that saw MacKenzie Gore’s recent struggles continue and interim manager Miguel Cairo get ejected for the first time.
Gore, whose name has emerged as a potential trade candidate – more so by contenders interested in acquiring an All-Star lefty with two-plus years of club control than by the Nationals themselves – this month, endured through his third consecutive shaky outing, this one bringing out some negative emotions from the 26-year-old.
Gore was charged with six runs in 5 1/3 innings, surrendering a pair of homers while also seeing his command go awry at times. He has now allowed 15 runs while walking 10 batters over his last 12 2/3 innings, during which time his ERA has jumped from 3.02 to 3.80.
Whether any potentially interested contenders view these recent struggles as reason to reduce their offers to interim general manager Mike DeBartolo in advance of Thursday night’s trade deadline remains to be seen. Either way, Gore unquestionably is now mired in the worst stretch of an otherwise fantastic season.
"I'd be lying if I told you I didn't see it," the lefty said of the trade speculation. "But look, I've been trying to figure out how to get guys out and pitch well. It's a little strange, but I've been trying to get people out and get ready for each start. But I'd be lying if I told you I didn't see it."
It was already a frantic morning for the Nationals, who finalized a trade that sent relievers Andrew Chafin and Luis García to the Angels for two minor leaguers less than an hour before first pitch. A host of other potential trade candidates – veterans and not-quite-veterans alike – also were on edge in anticipation of the pending deadline.
All the while, Gore tried to stick to his usual pregame routine, prepping for a start he knew in the back of his mind could be his last for the Nats. And when he took the mound at Daikin Park, he found himself having to cope with a particular thorn in his side: the free-swinging Jose Altuve.
Altuve, long known for going after the first pitch of his at-bats, did it twice to Gore in the game’s first two innings. He singled in the bottom of the first off a 94-mph fastball, ultimately scoring on Cam Smith’s sacrifice fly to center for a 1-0 lead. One inning later, with two on and two out this time, Altuve pounced on a first-pitch changeup up in the zone and hammered it into the Crawford Boxes in left field a three-run homer that could only leave Gore shaking his head and muttering to himself.
"Good player, he's been doing it for a long time," he said of Altuve. "He gets up there ready to hit, and when he gets something he likes, he does damage. That's really all it is."
Those were the only runs Gore would allow through the fifth, but that didn’t mean he was in anything close to peak form throughout his start. He enjoyed only one 1-2-3 inning, he was charged with three wild pitches and he constantly found himself trying to get himself out of jams.
By the time the bottom of the sixth arrived, it all fell apart. Gore served up a two-run homer to Cooper Hummel on a 3-2 fastball, didn’t say a word to Cairo as he handed over the ball, then said several words to plate umpire Ryan Additon on his way back to the dugout (presumably about the previous borderline pitch, called ball three instead of strike three).
"It was about the pitch prior," Gore acknowledged. "But I made a bad pitch on the next one, and he hit it out."
Cairo followed suit, engaging with Additon on his way back to the dugout and earning the first ejection of his brief managerial stint here. Thus did Henry Blanco, who opened the season as the Nationals’ catching coordinator, become the Nationals’ manager for the final three-plus innings of today’s game.
"I've got to support my pitcher," Cairo said. "I've got my player's back. The pitch was close, and I just let him know it was close. Just be consistent both ways, that's what I was telling him."
Blanco would then preside over a complete meltdown as the rest of the sixth inning played out. Cole Henry, who replaced Gore on the mound, got himself into his own jam and then served up a towering, three-run homer to Yainer Diaz. That turned a still-winnable game when the inning began into a rout.
It didn’t help matters that the Nationals' lineup once again was shut down by an opposing starter with little track record. Ryan Gusto, among several pitchers the Astros have been forced to thrust into the rotation after a spate of injuries, entered with a 5.18 ERA in 23 big league games (13 of them starts). He was roughed up by the A’s for eight runs in 3 1/3 innings his last time out. And he proceeded to hold the Nats to one run over six innings on 102 pitches.
That lone run came via a big blast, but via Josh Bell’s legs of all things. The lumbering designated hitter, in perhaps his final game with the team, legged out the first of his two infield singles to set the stage in the top of the second. He then went first to third on Nathaniel Lowe’s single to center. And then he scored on Daylen Lile’s sacrifice fly to medium-deep center field.
"I feel like when (my legs) feel good, I can make things happen," Bell said. "The most important thing is to try to be smart out there and run at the right times. I feel like i did a much better job of that than I did against the Padres (earlier this month). Hopefully, more of that to come."
Otherwise, the Nationals had little going at the plate on a day when two more veterans were traded, their ace was battered around and a host of others wondered if they’ll still be on the roster come Friday.
"Any opportunity to play this game in the big leagues is a blessing," said Bell, who has been dealt each of the last three trade deadlines. "Not taking anything for granted, no matter where you're at. We'll see what happens. We'll see what happens with the rest of the guys here. But no matter where you're at, if you can play in the big leagues, it's definitely a blessing."
