Nationals left-handed pitcher John Lannan will not be confused with the top aces around Major League Baseball. He’s not Roy Halladay or Dan Haren. He doesn’t have the overpowering stuff of Zack Greinke or Tim Lincecum. And he probably won’t contend for a Cy Young Award any time soon.
But Lannan is as close to an ace as Washington has in its young starting rotation — and plenty competitive enough to relish the situation he faced on Tuesday night. Another long losing streak needed to be squelched. Lannan figured he was just the man for the job.
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The 24-year-old again confounded the New York Mets, allowing just seven hits and walking none during a complete-game 4-0 Washington victory. He was economical with his pitches, maintained impeccable control and induced ground ball after ground ball — 15 in all.
That effort helped the Nats snap a six-game losing streak. It is the fifth time since June 6th that Lannan (7-7, 3.38 ERA) has won a game following a Washington loss. It was also the fifth time during that stretch he has pitched into the eighth inning.
“That was the most like me start. It was ground balls, got ahead of guys. That’s what it takes for me to be successful,” Lannan said. “But dominating? I don’t think the guys in the Mets’ dugout consider me dominating. I just made good pitches down in the zone.”
For the Mets, it was a case of déje vu. Lannan pitched a complete game against New York at Nationals Park on June 6th, allowing just four hits and no earned runs. But even that night Lannan walked three batters. There were no control issues this time around in his second career complete game.
That was more than enough for the Nats’ offense — even though that group managed just four hits total. But New York starter Oliver Perez (2-3, 7.68 ERA) helped the cause with six walks. Adam Dunn had an RBI single, Josh Willingham had a sacrifice fly, Alberto Gonzalez drove in a run on a fielder’s-choice and Wil Nieves produced an RBI single. The Nats scored twice in the fourth inning and twice in the fifth.
Nats Notes
» John Lannan’s performance was the first complete-game shutout at Nationals Park and the first complete-game shutout by a Nats pitcher since Aug. 15, 2006.
» Lannan posted his team-high 13th quality start of the season. He has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 16 of the last 18 starts.
» Attendance at Nationals Park on Tuesday against the New York Mets was 23,414.
