The Texas Rangers didn’t just bolster their rotation - they added a pitcher who’s already shown he can make life miserable for one of their biggest division rivals. MacKenzie Gore is officially in the AL West now, and for the Seattle Mariners, that’s a problem they’ve seen up close - and one they might be seeing a lot more of.
Gore’s track record against Seattle isn’t long - just two starts during his time with the Nationals - but the results were hard to ignore. Over 13 innings, he allowed just one earned run on eight hits, walked one, and struck out 16.
That’s a 0.69 ERA and a strikeout rate north of 11 per nine innings. Small sample?
Sure. But the dominance was real.
What makes Gore such a tough matchup for the Mariners isn’t just the results - it’s how he got them. In those two outings, he generated 35 swings and misses on 193 pitches. That’s impressive on its own, but dig a little deeper and it gets even more telling: 25 of those whiffs came on pitches inside the strike zone.
That’s where Gore separates himself. He doesn’t just get hitters to chase - he beats them in the zone.
And that’s not a fluke. In 2025, Gore tied for the ninth-lowest in-zone contact rate among qualified starters, a stat that speaks to just how overpowering his stuff can be when he’s locked in.
Now let’s talk about the Mariners. In 2025, they tied for the lowest in-zone contact rate in the majors - right alongside the Angels, who led MLB in strikeouts.
Seattle’s offense, especially over the past two seasons, has had its struggles making consistent contact. Their team OPS was under .700 during both of Gore’s starts against them, so it’s not like he was carving through a juggernaut.
Still, his ability to generate swings and misses in the zone plays directly into Seattle’s biggest offensive weakness.
There’s a bit of a silver lining here for the Mariners. When they do make contact on pitches in the zone, they hit the ball hard - really hard.
Their .608 slugging percentage on in-zone contact in 2025 was the sixth-best in the league. So the potential for damage is there.
But that’s the catch: you have to make contact first. And against Gore, that’s easier said than done.
What makes this even more significant is that there aren’t many pitchers in the AL West who can attack the Mariners this way. One of the few?
Houston’s Hunter Brown, who posted a 2.81 ERA in three starts against Seattle last season. Now, with Gore in Texas, the Mariners have another division arm who can exploit their biggest offensive flaw.
So yes, the Rangers got stronger - and in a very specific way that directly impacts their path through the division. For Seattle, this isn’t just about Texas adding another quality starter. It’s about adding this starter - one who’s already shown he can dominate their lineup and now gets to face them more often.
Opening Day is still a ways off, and there’s time for Seattle to make moves or adjustments. But right now, the addition of MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers rotation feels like a direct shot across the bow. The AL West just got a little tougher - especially for the Mariners.