MacKenzie Gore allowed nine hits and four runs with three walks and five strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings in a loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday.
This was as frustrating a start one could imagine for Gore. He repeatedly got ahead in the count, but struggled to put hitters away and allowed multiple two-strike, run-scoring hits. Many of those pitches weren’t in bad spots either, just nice pieces of hitting by the Cardinals plus an inability by Gore to finish at-bats. Without a meaningful third pitch against righties or any growth in his command, he’s sadly stuck in this spot. He’ll take a 4.23 ERA into his next scheduled start against the Royals.