It took 48 pitches — 26 strikes and 22 balls — before the inning was complete. If Gore hadn’t struck out the Cincinnati Reds’ Noelvi Marte to end the threat, his Saturday night probably would have ended there. Still, his exit undoubtedly was coming soon. Gore lasted just two innings and departed with his team facing a deficit, but the Nationals rallied to a 5-4 win thanks to Jacob Young’s go-ahead single in the eighth.

“I’m just not going deep into games. That’s frustrating for me,” Gore said. “It’s frustrating for the relievers that had to pitch seven innings today. But we won. And it’s a big win for us — a gutsy win.”

Saturday was the second time in Washington’s past four games in which its starter threw at least 40 pitches in the first inning. Mitchell Parker didn’t make it out of the first July 13 in Milwaukee, but the bullpen starred as the Nationals rallied to a 6-5 victory on CJ Abrams’s go-ahead homer in the ninth. On Saturday at Nationals Park, the Nationals (46-53) showed their resilience again.

This time, the winning rally started thanks to Ildemaro Vargas, who roped a double to lead off the eighth. James Wood moved him to third before Trey Lipscomb grounded out to pitcher Justin Wilson, setting up a matchup with Young. The scouting report on Young has been to work him in, but he turned on a first-pitch inside cutter from Wilson to drive a single through the left side of the infield, putting his arm out in celebration as the Nationals secured a series win against the Reds (47-52).

“The boys are going to play hard for 27 outs,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “They’re not going to give up.”

Still, the start of the evening was disappointing for Gore. The 25-year-old left-hander allowed two hits, walked four and gave up three runs on his bobblehead night as his rough July continued. He threw 67 pitches; just 37 were strikes.

For Gore to take another step forward as a top-of-the-rotation arm, he needs to eliminate bad outings such as Saturday’s. He showed his ability to be elite with a 2.91 ERA and a 72:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the season’s first two months. Next, he needed to prove he could keep doing that for a full season.

Gore’s ERA by month: 3.19 in April, 2.60 in May, 5.13 in June and 6.59 in July entering Saturday. Before the all-star break, he had allowed four runs or more in three of his previous four starts. The frustration was apparent in his deep, exasperated sighs in the clubhouse after each start. That continued Saturday.

“We know what the problem is,” he said. “I’m going to stop talking about it, and I’m going to figure out a way — whenever I pitch again — figure out a way to be better. … Been a good start to the second half in that way, but we saw what happened in the first two innings today.”

He opened with seven straight balls before a strike led to sarcastic cheers from the home crowd. His first inning went as follows: four-pitch walk, six-pitch walk, nine-pitch strikeout, four-pitch RBI single, seven-pitch walk, 10-pitch sacrifice fly, eight-pitch strikeout.

The Reds fouled off 16 pitches, including 11 fastballs. Gore threw just one first-pitch strike. After all of that, the Nationals trailed 2-0. But in the bottom half, Harold Ramírez hit his first home run as a National, a two-run shot to center that tied the score.

Even with a second chance, Gore couldn’t salvage his outing. He recorded the first two outs of the second, then walked Jonathan India for a second time. Elly De La Cruz followed with an RBI double to give the Reds the lead and advanced to third on an error by Wood in left. A groundout kept the Nationals’ deficit at 3-2, but the end of the inning left Gore’s July ERA at 7.47. His struggles have coincided with command issues — he has 13 walks in 15⅔ innings this month.

But just as it did a week earlier, Washington’s bullpen provided needed support. Jordan Weems allowed a solo homer to Tyler Stephenson in the third, but Robert Garcia, Dylan Floro and Derek Law didn’t allow a run over the next five innings. And the Nationals clawed their way back again — Abrams hit an RBI infield single in the fourth and Lane Thomas had a tying double in the seventh before Young delivered in the eighth. All-star Kyle Finnegan retired the side in order in the ninth for his 27th save as the Nationals put Gore’s ugly start behind them.

“I think both times, the bullpen has just been unbelievable,” Young said. “For them to be put in that type of situation is [not easy], and for them to keep giving us a chance in those games is great. Both games, we’ve been able to scrap runs throughout the game and get a big hit late. … It’s just cool to be able to win games like that.”

Martinez said right-hander Cade Cavalli (recovering from Tommy John surgery) experienced “dead arm” after his rehab start for high Class A Wilmington on June 21. Then he got the flu before he was scheduled to make his next rehab start in early July, which is why he hasn’t pitched in nearly a month.

The team plans to send the 25-year-old back to Florida to ramp up again soon. When Cavalli gets there, Martinez said, he will start from the beginning, throwing from flat ground and building his way back up to game action.