West Palm Beach, FL - Another Curly W goes into the Spring Training books. The Nationals staged a comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring four runs to clinch a victory against the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon.

The Nationals' Grapefruit League record now stands at 13-9, a noteworthy achievement for the team during Spring Training.

Left-handed pitcher Macizne Gore pitched for the Nationals. However, the game didn't unfold as planned for the southpaw, who pitched 4.2 innings, allowing nine hits and eight runs. Despite striking out ten batters, Gore surrendered a home run. With this performance, Gore's ERA rose to 5.87, and he remains winless in Spring Training.

Quick Notes 📓

Quick Notes: Josiah Gray named Opening Day Starter

Richard • Mar 17, 2024

There will be a different Opening Day starter for the Washington Nationals for the first time in years. The right-handed 22-year-old Josiah Gray will be the first Opening Day starter for the Nationals not named Patrick Corbin, Max Scherzer, or Stephen Strasburg

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“I felt the stuff was pretty good the whole way through,” Gore said after today’s start. “It got a little weird, but the stuff was good. It was hot. We held the velo. We just gave up a lot of hits.”

On the offensive side, the Nationals accumulated nine runs on 14 hits. RBIs were contributed by CJ Abrams (4), Alex Call (8), Lewin Díaz (6), Joey Meneses (4), Drew Millas (3), Nasim Nuñez (2), Eddie Rosario (1), James Winker (5), and James Wood (6), all playing pivotal roles in the team's comeback. Jesse Winker's home run in the bottom of the third inning was the deciding factor in the Nationals' victory.

This afternoon, the Nationals announced their second round of cuts, which included RHP Jackson Rutledge (optioned to Triple-A Rochester), alongside RHP Robert Gsellman, RHP Luis Perdomo, 2B Darren Baker, 1B Lewin Diaz, and C Brady Lindsly. Regarding Rutledge and his future, Nationals Manager Davey Martinez expressed satisfaction with his performance. "He did well," Martinez said. "We view him as a guy who could potentially come up here and help us. But he needs to establish a routine, get into a groove, and we need to prepare him."

Rutledge appeared in three games, pitched seven innings, and posted an ERA of 3.86. He notably started for the Nationals in their Spring Breakout Game on Friday afternoon, where he recorded a WHIP of 1.57 and struck out seven batters.

Notably, the Nationals have yet to cut their top prospects, as James Wood, Dylan Crews, Brady House, and Trey Lipscomb remain with the team, although their playing time has significantly decreased.

Next up, the Washington Nationals will begin the week with an "AWAY" game against their fellow complex mates, the Houston Astros. The Nationals will send recently announced Opening Day starter RHP Josiah Gray to the mound for the 6:05 p.m. start.

Gray enters tomorrow evening's game with a 0-1 record and a 7.36 ERA.

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