The Philadelphia Phillies will open up the 2025 regular season with a three-game road series against the Washington Nationals. The Phillies had the Nationals’ number last season, going 9-4 in 13 matchups.
Philadelphia will look to continue that dominance, starting with Opening Day on Mar. 27. As of right now, we don’t know who will be starting for the Phillies to open the season. However, we know who the Phils will face from the Nats’ side.
According to Andrew Golden of the Washington Post, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Monday that MacKenzie Gore will start on Opening Day against the Phillies.
Dave Martinez just announced that MacKenzie Gore will start on Opening Day against the Phillies.
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) March 17, 2025
Last season with the Nationals, Gore had a 10-12 record and a 3.90 ERA across 32 starts, all career-highs for the southpaw. The 26-year-old starting pitcher recorded 181 strikeouts and only allowed 15 home runs in 166.1 innings pitched.
The left-handed starter pitched well at Nationals Park last season, posting a 7-6 record and a 3.73 ERA in 19 starts.
However, opponents hit .279 at the plate with a .360 BAbip, which could be good news for the Phillies’ hitters. Furthermore, lefties hit Gore well last season, slashing .282/.368/.466 with six home runs. Nick Castellanos, a right-handed hitter has the best numbers against Gore (.350 with two home runs, a double, and four RBI).
The Phillies faced the southpaw four times last season, where he had a 1-1 record and an ERA of 3.42. Philadelphia also hit .241 against Gore in those four starts. Only six other teams had a lower batting average against the 26-year-old pitcher.
Philadelphia hasn’t fared well on Opening Day over the last two seasons, losing to the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves. Coincidentally, the Phillies lost both series to start the regular season. With that being said, Philadelphia will try to change their fortunes against Gore in 10 days.