Philly Leader

The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals have announced their starting pitchers for the season opener at Nationals Park, marking the beginning of a division rivalry. The game will feature MacKenzie Gore on the mound for the Nationals and Zack Wheeler leading the Phillies.

Gore is set to make his first Opening Day start as he begins his fourth season in Major League Baseball. At 26 years old, he led the Nationals in ERA last year and achieved personal bests in both starts and innings pitched. His home run rate saw a significant decrease from 1.8 in 2023 to 0.8 in 2024, placing him fifth in the National League. Additionally, Gore ranked seventh among NL pitchers with 9.79 strikeouts per nine innings.

Zack Wheeler will take on Opening Day duties for Philadelphia, following an impressive previous season where he recorded a 16-7 record with a 2.57 ERA over 32 starts. In postseason play, Wheeler holds a career record of 4-3 with a notable ERA of 2.18 across twelve appearances.

Reflecting on his achievements over recent years, Wheeler leads baseball with a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of 25.4 according to Baseball Reference, surpassing other top pitchers such as Gerrit Cole and Framber Valdez.

While yet to secure an NL Cy Young Award despite coming close twice, Wheeler recently signed a three-year contract extension worth $126 million with Philadelphia.

First pitch between these two teams is scheduled for March 27 at 4:05 p.m. ET.