BALTIMORE — When he stands on the mound like he did yesterday, 6 feet, 5 inches of bravado that’s itching to stop a losing streak, it’s easy to think John Lannan is a finished product.
True, the Nationals pitcher has the nerve of a starter far beyond his 23 years as he showed again in throwing 71/3 innings and winning the day after a Nationals loss for the fourth time this season. But of the handful of impressive outings he has had this season, Lannan said this might be the one that teaches him how to do it consistently.
The formula was nothing fancy. The left-hander threw four pitches to the same spots over and over with an exactness that manager Manny Acta called “Maddux-like,” beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 and allowed Washington to finish a seven-game road swing at 4-3 — the first time it has posted a winning record on a road trip this season.
“Ridiculous good with his location,” Acta said. “He was tremendous — kept it down, hit the glove the whole day, also getting quick outs. The kid deserves all the credit.”
Iced by a two-hour rain delay that he admitted had him antsy, Lannan (4-4) nonetheless was a model of efficiency. He didn’t reach 100 pitches until the second batter he pitched to in the eighth inning. Seventy-one of his 105 throws were for strikes, split amongst a fastball, curveball, slider and occasional change-up that only crossed back from the outer half of the plate when he wanted the Orioles to put one in play.
The start followed one of Lannan’s worst nights of the season Tuesday in New York. Against the Mets, he shied away from his fastball, left off-speed pitches up and got hit for four runs on 12 hits in six innings.
He looked nothing like that pitcher at Camden Yards.
“This was the best [outing] to build on,” he said. “I’m just going to try to repeat the fastball. That’s all I’m going to try to do: Just get ahead and the other pitches will come. That’s about it.”
It worked on a day when the Nationals knew they would have a hard time getting runs off Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. His only blemish came when Cristian Guzman’s home run in the third inning put the Nationals up 1-0.
They got another run in the eighth when Felipe Lopez started the inning with a double, moved to third on Guzman’s sacrifice bunt and scored when Ryan Zimmerman reached up and slapped a high fastball from sidearm thrower Chad Bradford down the right field line for a double.
The insurance paid off when Lannan found his only trouble of the day in the eighth inning.
Adam Jones singled to start the inning, Luke Scott slapped Lannan’s final pitch down the right-field line for a one-out double that moved Jones to third and then the skies opened up. The second rain delay of the day started at 5:37, when Luis Ayala was about to enter the game to replace Lannan.
Instead, he headed for a laptop in the Nationals’ dugout to watch extra film of Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora. When the game resumed 27 minutes later, he got a pair of fly ball outs that ended the inning with only one Orioles run.
It was the third solid appearance in a row for the setup man, who seemingly has rebounded from an early season funk in which he let seven of 10 inherited runners score.
“We trust him, and basically that’s a situation where you’ve got to get two outs before they tie the ballgame,” Acta said. “It’s good for him.”
But the story of the day was Lannan, who manages to keep growing into a stopper while giving the appearance he already has become one.
“I like coming in in situations where the team really needs it,” Lannan said. “I think every pitcher is like that with the extra emphasis on the win. When we really need it, that’s when I kind of step it up.”
NEW SERIES
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES AT WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Today: 7:10 p.m., RHP Brett Myers (2-4, 5.91) vs. RHP Tim Redding (5-3, 3.55)
Tomorrow: 7:10 p.m., LHP Cole Hamels (5-3, 2.89) vs. RHP Jason Bergmann (1-1, 7.45)
Wednesday: 7:10 p.m., LHP Jamie Moyer (3-3, 4.89) vs. starter TBA
Series breakdown: The Nationals’ season hasn’t looked as promising as it did when they left Citizens Bank Park on April 3 having won two of three from the Phillies. Their new ballpark could get a workout this week from a Philadelphia lineup that already has hit 64 homers. Considering how depleted Washington’s offense is right now, the Nationals can’t afford to get in trouble against Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and a streaking Jimmy Rollins, who is 15-for-40 since returning from the disabled list May 9.
— Ben Goessling
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