In his initial spring outing, MacKenzie Gore offered glimpses of the brilliance that occasionally shone through last season. However, he also revealed some of the persistent challenges that have tripped him up in the past, underscoring both his potential and the hurdles he must clear to become a reliable starter for the Nationals.

MacKenzie Gore is honing in on throwing strikes with greater consistency, an area where he wavered early in Saturday’s game. Despite the shaky start, he transformed into a strike-throwing force over three scoreless innings during the Nationals’ 7-0 victory over the Marlins on March 1.

“We figured it out,” Gore remarked. “You’re bound to toss a ball now and then, but we didn’t overreact. We just settled back into the count. For March 1, I’d say it was a solid effort.”

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