• Turner Field Top 5:
5. Tough As Nails Lannan: John Lannan was just 3.1 innings into his last outing against Colorado when a line drive off Ty Wiggington's bat caught him flush on the face, slowed only a little, if at all, by the pitcher's raised glove. Lannan stayed down for a minute before rising and quickly walking off the field with a trainer in tow and blood dripping off his nose. Lannan's 19th start ended just 57 pitches after it began. The injury turned to be less severe than it originally appeared. "A nasal contusion" was the official description. Without missing a start, the 26-year-old left-hander is back on the mound in Atlanta, and through a scoreless top of the first on 13 pitches after the Nats go down in order to Tommy Hanson in the top of the frame...
4. 1 for 33: Michael Morse waits on a 1-2 curve from Tommy Hanson and doubles on a line drive to left to start the Nationals' second. A one-out walk to Rick Ankiel brings Wilson Ramos up with two on, and the Nats' catcher comes through with a ground-rule double to right-center that gets Washington on the board up 1-0 over Atlanta. Ian Desmond doesn't see much to hit with the hitless John Lannan due up ninth, and Desmond's walked by the Braves' right-hander, who gives up hit no.1 on the year by the Nats' left-handed hitting pitcher. Lannan singles to center under a sliding Alex Gonzalez. Lannan's 1 for 33 on the year at the plate and he's back on the mound in the second with a 3-0 lead after he drives Ankiel and Ramos in. Lannan issues a one-out walk to Dan Uggla in the bottom of the frame, and a two-run HR by Alex Gonzalez gets the Braves within one a half-inning after the Nats took the lead. 3-2 D.C. after 2.0 after two innings in Atlanta...
• Chipper Jones on John Lannan (and Alex Gonzalez's HR): "John Lannan's been a tough matchup for us over the last couple of years. He just doesn't throw anything in the middle of the plate and he doesn't try to do the same thing twice in a row. If he throws you a cutter away he's gonna four-seam you in. If he throws you a cutter in, he's gonna sink you away. That's what he's done. And he got that ball to Alex in the middle of the plate, a little offspeed pitch right in the middle of the plate. Probably wanted it a little farther in, and Alex doesn't miss too many balls in the middle of the plate."
3. Leadoff Walks Rarely Cause Damage: John Lannan walks Dan Uggla for the second time tonight in the bottom of the fourth. The Braves' underachieving second baseman with the .256 OBP walked in his first at bat and scored on Alex Gonzalez's 8th HR of 2011, but this time the baserunner's erased on a force at second on a grounder to third that's too slow to turn a DP. John Lannan gets it right on a grounder from Gonzalez in the next AB that's tailor made for a DIY 6-3 DP. Desi fields and throws to first and the Nats' 3-2 lead holds up through four. A fielding error by Ryan Zimmerman puts the leadoff runner on again in the Braves' fifth, but Tommy Hanson bunts one too hard and Lannan starts a 1-6-3 DP. One walk later, Lannan gets his ninth groundout of the night (3 K's, no flyouts) and he's up 3-2 after five innings in Atlanta.
2. VAMOS RAMOS!!: Rick Ankiel's 1 for 2 with a walk and a K after he singles to left off Tommy Hanson to start the Nats' sixth. The Nats' catcher Wilson Ramos is 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a two-run HR after he crushes a 1-1 fastball from Hanson and sends it soaring out through the Hotlanta air and into the left field seats. Ramos' 9th HR of 2011. 5-2 Nats, and one out later John Lannan's second hit of the season in 35 at bats chases the Braves' right-hander from the game and if the Nats hold on, ends a five-game win streak for the 24-year-old right-hander. John Lannan gives up a leadoff single to Brian McCann and a one-out single to Dan Uggla in the sixth, and he's pulled with two down for right-hander Ryan Mattheus who survives a scare on a fly to left that just falls foul to retire Alex Gonzalez and end the bottom of the frame. Still 5-2 Nationals.
1. The A-Pen: Ryan Mattheus records the final out of the sixth and comes back with a 1-2-3 8-pitch seventh. A one-out walk by Wilson Ramos and a single by Ian Desmond on which the Braves throw it around the field set the Nats up with runners on first and third, but Brian Bixler and Roger Bernadina both ground out to end the top of the eighth. A man in a wedding dress runs on the field and causes a delay in the Braves' eighth, but All-Star reliever Tyler Clippard isn't distracted. 1-2-3 eighth for Clippard on 10 pitches, 9 of them strikes. Drew Storen takes over in the ninth after the Nationals fail to add to their lead. Dan Uggla goes down swinging. Jason Heyward grounds to short and so does Alex Gonzalez, 1-2-3 the Nationals win. Lannan's 6th win. Drew Storen's 24th save...
• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...
Num | Name - Comments |
---|---|
1 | dc Roach - 150 |
2 | RobBobS - 94 |
3 | jgb2772 - 67 |
4 | cat daddy3000 - 61 |
5 | Dan Shields - 58 |
6 | MissB - 49 |
7 | cookielover - 28 |
8 | Brotato - 23 |
9 | Doncosmic - 18 |
10 | Nationalpastime9 - 15 |
• Doghouse's Post Game WPA Graph - Doghouse's Comments:
Nationals now 47-47.