The goal for the San Francisco Giants offense going into Friday’s series opener against the Nationals was to try and get to the bullpen. By hook, or by crook — just get there, because an evening facing the left-rifle of MacKenzie Gore was going to be unpleasant.
There’s a reason the 26 year old spells his name with a capital-K smack-dab-in-the-middle of it. On his current pace, he’ll top 250+ Ks by season’s end. Coming into tenth start, Gore’s 34.7% Whiff rate was in the league’s 94th percentile, his 35.6% K-rate is in the 97th, while his 32.