Lannan had put together four pretty good starts since his return from Double-A Harrisburg. And Tuesday he gave up just seven hits in five innings, didn’t walk a batter and induced seven ground-ball outs, including a double play. But Lannan still left with five runs on the board against him – four of them earned.

“[Lannan] threw a lot of good pitches. You saw some ground balls to the left side of the infield, which is again an indication he’s throwing well,” said Nats manager Jim Riggleman. “But they strung a couple of hits together and Soriano got him. That was the big hit. Soriano has hurt us in this ballpark…He’s got the ability to elevate the ball in that part of the park right there.”

Lannan struggled with his sinker all night and left a pair of sliders up to Soriano and Colvin, who each took advantage by hitting the ball out. But he was at least happy with some adjustments made after a rough second inning and finished on a nice note with the double play. Of the last 14 batters Lannan faced, Chicago put just three runners on base – one of those an error in the fourth inning followed immediately by Colvin’s homer.

But the Nats just didn’t have an answer for Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano, who has changed his style a bit after years as a power pitcher He went 7 1/3 innings, pounding the strike zone with just one walk on the night. Washington managed just five hits. Zambrano improved to 5-6 and lowered his ERA to 4.64.

“We didn’t really have a lot going against [Zambrano]. He really pitched good,” Riggleman said. “He’s a little different style pitcher than he was in past years where he was throwing in the high 90s. But today he worked fast, pitched very effectively, had some quick innings and got ground balls.”

Adam Kennedy’s three-run double off Chicago closer Carlos Marmol in the ninth made things interesting. Not many relievers have such pure stuff – “that [slider] is nasty,” Nyjer Morgan said – and Ryan Zimmerman needed every last bit of willpower to lay off a 1-2 slider with two down and Kennedy the tying run at second base. He then fouled off another one at the last instant before getting a fastball that he could drive. Unfortunately, Kosuke Fukudome is fast and was playing towards the corner in right field anyway. In the end, the Cubs outfielder caught up to the ball just shy of the warning track.

“He put a good jolt in that ball. Zim’s just a clutch hitter,” Lannan said. “He has been every since he got up here. He’s the guy you want up there in that situation and he drove the ball the other way. Marmol is not easy. He’s definitely a tough closer.”

Nats Notes

» Kennedy was 2-for-5, including his three-run double. Alberto Gonzalez was the only other Nat to get two hits.

» Shortstop Ian Desmond sat out his second straight game with a sore thumb. But he did pinch hit in the eighth inning, striking out on a disputed check swing call with the bases loaded. Desmond said afterward that he would be back in the lineup on Wednesday in the series finale against Chicago.

» Credit the Washington bullpen for keeping the game close. Miguel Batista pitched two perfect innings and Collin Balester – called up from Triple-A Syracuse for the next two days until Jordan Zimmermann is needed to start on Thursday – retired the Cubs in order in the eighth. Craig Stammen gave up just one hit in the ninth.

» Soriano hit his 20^th homer of the season for Chicago. He has done that each of the last nine seasons. Meanwhile, Colvin leads all major-league rookies in homers (19). 

Notable Quotable

Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman on the difference between an ugly loss 9-1 to the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday’s 5-4 defeat.

“We played a good game. John made two bad pitches. You’ve got to give them credit for hitting the bad pitches that he made. But that was a much better game than we played last night.”

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