A season that once seemed lost now has been found for Nationals starting pitcher John Lannan.
Stuck at Double-A Harrisburg for six weeks this summer, Washington’s Opening Day starter returned to the big leagues Aug. 1 and is gradually finding the form that made him a key piece of the team’s rotation.
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Lannan’s best start of the 2010 season came Sunday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals. He lasted 72⁄3 innings, allowing just one run on eight hits with no walks as the Nats earned a 4-2 victory. Washington took three of four games from the playoff-contending Cardinals at Nationals Park.
“There’s still room for improvement,” said Lannan, who posted ERAs of 3.91 and 3.88 the past two seasons. “The last couple of years I’ve been at the same point. Now it’s time to move past that mentally and get better.”
Sunday’s outing lowered his ERA to 4.95 in 111 major league innings. He is now 6-6 overall. The Nats improved to 56-75 with the win and are on a six-game road trip to Florida and Pittsburgh this week.
Lannan, of all people, helped himself against one of the game’s best pitchers. Adam Wainwright entered the day with 17 wins and an ERA of just 2.18. But the National League Cy Young candidate gave up a two-out, two-run double to Lannan in the second inning that put Washington ahead 2-0. He had been hitting .059 on the season.
“The hit is icing on the cake. That was beautiful,” Nats manager Jim Riggleman said. “But the number of pitches [Lannan] made the other pitchers throw is indicative of how hard he’s been working [on his swing].”
Lannan gave way to reliever Drew Storen with a runner at first and Albert Pujols at the plate in the eighth. But Storen got Pujols to chase a breaking ball in the dirt for a strikeout to end the inning. Storen did give up a homer to Pedro Feliz in the ninth, and an error by shortstop Ian Desmond brought the tying run to the plate. But Storen struck out pinch hitter Colby Rasmus to end it.
