Nats 4, Braves 2
Justin Maxwell’s grand slam and a fine pitching performance from John Lannan and three relievers lifted the Nats to a series victory in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon. That Braves’ lead in the N.L. wild-card race is down to one game over San Francisco. The Giants host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. Maxwell’s homer – the third grand slam of his career – was the critical blow. Only catcher Wilson Ramos had more than one hit for Washington on Wednesday. Other than that the Nats loaded the bases loaded in the eighth inning and didn’t score. They didn’t put a single runner on base in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or ninth innings.
Recommended Stories
Credit Lannan, who allowed just two runs despite three walks and another eight hits by Atlanta. Since returning from a six-week stint in the minor leagues on Aug. 1, Lannan is 6-2 with a 3.08 ERA. He’s missing bats more than he has in his entire career with 35 strikeouts to just nine walks. That ERA has dropped to 4.61 overall – down from 5.76 when he was sent down to Double-A Harrisburg. This is the guy Washington tabbed to start Opening Day the past two seasons and Lannan’s performance over his last nine starts has gone a lone way towards reassuring the organization that he belongs in the 2011 rotation and can be a key part of it.
Joel Peralta, Sean Burnett and Drew Storen finished off Lannan’s victory with three scoreless innings. The combined bullpen ERA for the season is down to 3.41. Just think back to a year ago when general manager Mike Rizzo blew up bullpen three times over before settling on a group he liked. Now it ranks No. 7 overall in Major League Baseball and hasn’t really missed a step since trading closer Matt Capps in late July. That’s a remarkable turnaround.
Nats Notes
» Washington’s instructional league begins on Thursday in Viera, Fla. and will include No. 1 overall draft pick Bryce Harper. The 17-year-old outfielder is one of 46 prospects gathering at the team’s spring training complex for a month of workouts and games against other organizations (Atlanta, Houston, Detroit) with facilities around the Orlando area. Harper could still be named to the prestigious Arizona Fall League that begins play on Oct. 12. But the front office wants to see how Harper does in the instructional league setting before committing to that step.
Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14
