Washington Nationals: Dylan Crews talks approach, MacKenzie Gore dazzles

DENVER — If Dylan Crews was looking for a place to break out of his early-season offensive funk, Coors Field proved to be the perfect venue on Saturday.

Entering Saturday’s game with no extra-base hits on the campaign, Crews accounted for a pair of home runs and a double as the Washington Nationals held on for a 12-11 win over the Colorado Rockies in the first game of a three-game set that was pushed back on Friday because of snow.

For Crews, however, it wasn’t just about the extra-base hits. It was about his power showing up in a blast to right-center.

“I think good things happen, or good things are happening with my swing and I’m driving the ball to right field,” Crews said on Saturday. “It’s kind of how I’ve been, really, my whole life, really, even in college, being able to drive to the right-center gap, and me and my hitting coaches have been working on it every day. So I’ll use this as momentum and keep going forward with this.”

Saturday was the first-ever multi-homer game for the 23-year-old Crews, the second overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft. He also extended his hitting streak to a career-high tying four games.

“I was getting into a good position. I think if I just get the foot down and get ready to hit, I feel like I can, honestly, in my opinion, hit anything,” Crews said. “We’re going to keep moving forward with that.”

Rockies starting pitcher Chase Dollander gave up four home runs in his 4.0 innings on Saturday with Crews hitting two and Josh Bell and James Wood adding shots as well. For Wood, it was his sixth home run over his last 11 games and his seventh of the season overall.

Over his last 11 games, he is slashing .286/.412/.738 with 14 RBI.

Saturday was also the first game where Wood and Crews have homered in the same contest.

MacKenzie Gore dominates Rockies

Entering Saturday leading the National League with 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings, Gore tamed Coors Field during his outing, posting 13 strikeouts and matching his career-high set on Opening Day against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In his 6.0 innings of work, he became the sixth visiting pitcher (eighth overall) to ever log at least 13 strikeouts at Coors Field and the first since Jacob DeGrom had 14 in 6.0 innings with the New York Mets in Game 1 of a April 17, 2021, doubleheader.

When Gore left the game, the Nationals were ahead 9-2. In the inning after he departed, Colorado scored eight runs to begin their comeback quest.

So how dominant was Gore, who came to Washington from the San Diego Padres system in the Juan Soto trade at the 2022 MLB trade deadline, against the Rockies? He registered 28 swings and misses on Saturday.

What made Gore so overpowering on Saturday? I asked Colorado manager Bud Black after the game.

“It starts with the fastball,” Black said. “You know, the fastball is 94 (mph) but it has some qualities that you can only tell if you’re in the box. Some of the metrics show it, right? It’s got a good spin. It’s got good carry. You think you’re on it, but you’re not. And the secondaries are real, right?

“Today, I think that really that little cutter he had going in the middle part of the game that we were just swinging over the top of. It was a really good pitch. He’s got a good curveball, and he has a change. So it’s his mix and their quality, but I think it starts with the fastball.”