Game Details

• Washington Nationals (1-2) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates  (4-0)
• Pitching Matchup: LHP Marco Gonzales (0-0; 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore (0-0; 0.00 ERA)
• Date: Monday, April 1, 2024 | 4:05 p.m. ET  | Game #4 / Home #1
• Location: Nationals Park | Washington, D.C.

Today, the Washington Nationals will welcome the 4-0 Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2024 season home opener at Nationals Park.

Game Story Line & Notes

Welcome Home, Washington Nationals: Today, the Washington Nationals will welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2024 season home opener at Nationals Park. The last time the Washington Nationals won their home opener was back in 2021 against the Atlanta Braves 6-5. The last time the Nationals won pre-COVID-19 was all the way back in 2017 against the Miami Marlins 4-2. Getting the Opening Day nod back in  2017 and the winning pitcher was RHP Stephen Strasburg. Today’s lineup and starting pitcher will be a lot different from the 2017 starting lineup. Trea Turner at SS led off the game back in 2017, and it looks like another shortstop this time: CJ Abrams will be getting the call to lead off the game for the Nationals.

Heartbreaking Loss: Let’s hope the Nationals come back and win today after a heartbreaking loss yesterday afternoon to the Reds. With two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, victory seemed within reach until Jonathan India's seven-pitch at-bat, which ended with a double, altered the course of the game. A subsequent home run by the Reds' centerfielder, Will Benson, followed by Christian Encarnacion-Strand's game-winning walk-off homerun, sealed the Nationals' fate, with the Reds winning with a final score of 6-5.

Welcome to the Show: It’s been fun watching third baseman Trey Lipscomb play for the Nationals over the past two games. The 23-year-old prospect has been impressive, going 3-7 with three hits, one home run, one RBI, and one stolen base, a batting average of .429, and an OPS of 1.357. He has also shown his range at third base for the team.

Oppo Research. The Washington Nationals will face 32-year-old LHPMarco Gonzales. Gonzales has only faced Joey Gallo and Jesse Winker out of the entire current Washington Nationals lineup. However, the last time he played against the Washington Nationals was in 2015 when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals. Today, he will face a completely different Washington Nationals lineup from start to finish, so it will be interesting to see how the Nationals approach the left-hander. Last season, Gonzales was 4-1 with an ERA of 5.22 in 10 games and over 50 innings pitched. He struck out a total of 34 and has a WHIP of 1.46.

A new starting pitcher: The Washington Nationals will have a new face on the mound for today’s home opener: LHP MacKenzie Gore. This is the first time Strasburg, Sercher, or Corbin will not pitch on Opening Day. It is truly a new era for the Washington Nationals. Welcome…

Quotables:

• “You never want one of your players to get hurt, unfortunately that’s what happened… We get Trey up here; we only missed him for a couple days. I’m excited to watch him play. He had a good spring, I wanted to get him out there right away. Let’s see what he can do.” - Manager Dave Martinez on calling up Trey Lipscomb.
• "That's what I was doing all spring training: Battle with two strikes… Go up there and try to get on base. And he left one over the middle, and I was able to do some damage." Trey Lipscomb on his approach during his homerun at bat.
• “We had a chance to take the series and get some momentum heading back home. I’m just ready to get back out there and put this one behind me.” - Kyle Finnegan on getting the loss yesterday afternoon.
• "We played hard, we played tough. It's just unfortunate. When you get a chance to go into the ninth with your closer, usually good things happen. Tonight, it didn't happen. But we get to go home, have our home opener tomorrow and go 1-0 tomorrow." - Manager Dave Martinez on the heartbreaking loss yesterday afternoon.

On the bump for the Nationals: LHP MacKenzie Gore

LHP MacKenzie Gore will make his first start of the 2024 season as the Nationals look to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss yesterday afternoon. Last year, Gore had a record of 7-10 with an ERA of 4.42 and appeared in 27 games, pitched 136.1 innings, struck out 151 and a WHIP of 1.40

The only time that Gore has faced the Pittsburgh Pirates is when he was with the San Deigo Padres back in 2022. Gore got the win back on June 29, 2022. Gore pitched seven innings, only giving up two hits and no runs. He struck out nine and walked three.

MacKenzie Gore vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Regular Season: 1 GP, 7.0 IP, 0-0 W-L, 0 SV, 0.00 ERA, 9 SO, 3 BB

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