Gore, Wood return to form as Nats blow out Giants (updated)

SAN FRANCISCO – Maybe it was the cool air blowing out towards the bay, the clear blue sky welcoming everyone to summer in San Francisco. Maybe it was just time for things to stabilize again for a Nationals team that looked lost, defeated and deflated in its first week following a tumultuous trade deadline.

Whatever the case, back-to-back day games at Oracle Park provided the recipe for a much-needed, get-right weekend for the Nats, especially their biggest stars.

Today’s 8-0 thumping of the Giants saw MacKenzie Gore look like MacKenzie Gore again, the left-hander striking out 10 over six scoreless innings to bounce back from a wretched stretch of four substandard starts.

It saw CJ Abrams look like CJ Abrams again, the shortstop launching a two-run homer off the right field foul pole, then singling and scoring again later.

And along with Saturday’s 4-2 win, James Wood looked like James Wood again, the slumping slugger recording a homer and three doubles to drive in six runs (four of them coming during today’s game).

There’s still a long way to go before these All-Stars are definitively "back," but the last 48 hours no doubt offered the best evidence in a while they’re headed in the right direction at last.

"I feel we've all kind of been struggling a little bit of late," Wood said. "It was nice to contribute, all three of us in one game. And get a W."

"It was nice. We all played well today," Gore said. "We all needed it."

None of Gore’s last four starts could be classified as good starts, and the lefty was the first to admit that. He gave up eight runs in two of them, six runs in another. And even though he held the Twins to one run on one hit back on July 25, he still issued six walks in that game, preventing him from reaching the sixth inning. Along the way, his once-sterling 3.02 ERA ballooned to a not-sterling 4.29, threatening to ruin a once-sterling season.

So there was some level of pressure on Gore when he took the mound this afternoon, recognizing the need to get himself back on track now, before it’s too late. And it quickly became apparent he was going to do just that.

"I told you last time we were going to have to make some adjustments, and we did," the lefty said. "When you pitch bad, it's not like all of a sudden you lose it. There were a couple things there that were just a little off, and in this league it can make a big difference. I made some adjustments, and it was good today."

Despite surrendering a leadoff single to Heliot Ramos on his very first pitch, Gore came right back to strike out both Rafael Devers and Willy Adams, blowing the first away with a 96 mph fastball, fooling the second with a sharp-breaking curveball. The pattern continued in the bottom of the second, with Gore eschewing Matt Chapman’s leadoff single and striking out the next three batters in succession, giving him five punchouts in a span of seven batters.

He never let up. Throwing strikes (67 of 96 pitches overall) but for the most part missing the heart of the strike zone unlike his last time out, Gore was both overwhelming and efficient. The Giants never advanced a runner beyond first base during his six innings of work, nor during the game's final three innings against the Nats bullpen.

And when he got Wilmer Flores swinging at a cutter to end the sixth, Gore walked off the mound with double-digit strikeouts for the first time since April 19 at Coors Field. His ERA is still in the 4.00s, but it’s finally trending down again.

"That's him. That's what you get from a No. 1, and that's who he is," interim manager Miguel Cairo said. "It was awesome to see him come back and perform the way he normally does."

The Nationals made life easier on their ace by providing him a bunch of run support, taking down a future Hall of Famer with their best offensive showing in some time.

Justin Verlander may be a shell of his old self, but the 42-year-old does still throw 95 mph and takes the mound with the aura of an all-time legend. He struck out three of the first five batters he faced today and was serenaded by the sellout crowd for becoming only the 10th pitcher in major league history with 3,500 career strikeouts.

Then the Nats’ bats got to work and put a hurting on the old guy. They recorded five hits in the top of the second, four of them for extra bases. Wood’s two-out double down the right field line brought home the game’s first two runs. CJ Abrams followed with a towering blast down the same line that looked destined for McCovey Cove until it clanged off the foul pole for a two-run homer.

They added another run off Verlander in the fourth on Paul DeJong’s two-out RBI single to center. (DeJong duplicated that feat two innings later off reliever Spencer Bivens, the veteran infielder’s fifth hit and third RBI in two days.) All told, the Nationals totaled 11 hits off Verlander, a sustained offensive attack long in the making.

"We knew he has a good fastball; he's a Hall of Fame pitcher," DeJong said. "I think everyone was excited to play today. We just tried to stay on the fastball, and that allowed us to either hit the off-speed stuff or take it."

Among the contributors was Josh Bell, who capped off a fantastic weekend with two singles, a double and a walk. All told, the veteran designated hitter reached base in 9-of-12 plate appearances in this series, raising his season OPS to .731 (higher than the overall league average).

"It feels good," said Bell, whose OPS bottomed out at .519 in mid-May. "I still have a long ways to go. I'm trying to push for (.800) now, so a long way to go. But I'm just trying to fight the good fight every at-bat and string some quality at-bats together, and then hopefully have the results out there as well."