Bullpen no match for Boston mashers

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By Ben Goessling

As much as the Boston Red Sox have become the blueprint for building a winner in the major leagues, their path to success is an even more specific model for the Washington Nationals.

One of manager Manny Acta's favorite books is "Mind Game," a Baseball Prospectus account of how the Red Sox finally overtook the New York Yankees in 2004 by building a lineup full of players with high on-base percentages, carefully handling their pitching staff and treating outs as precious commodities not to be given away on the basepaths or mishandled in the field.

Philosophically, it's how the Nationals have tried to build their team. But in resources and results, the chasm between the theoretical and the actual is still miles wide. That was never more apparent than in Boston's 11-3 win on Tuesday night.

While the Nationals' defense slipped, the Red Sox took advantage. While the Red Sox turned walks into runs, the Nationals turned them into men left on base. And while Boston's bullpen flitted efficiently through the game's final three innings, Washington's stumbled and fell through self-made holes.

All that turned a tightly contested ballgame in front of a Nationals Park-record crowd of 41,517 into a laugher that ended in front of a plentiful and pleased Red Sox contingent.

"It was a typical example of what got us where we're at right now," Acta said. "We didn't play good defense. We allowed them to take the lead on poor defense. There's some other stuff that didn't show up in the box score, either. ... And then the bullpen imploded and didn't keep us in the game."

Nationals starter John Lannan battled Brad Penny for six innings, leaving with the score tied, but the Red Sox split the game open with eight runs in the game's final three innings.

Lannan's fastball-first approach didn't work nearly as well as it did in his 8 1/3-inning masterpiece last week in Yankee Stadium for the simple fact that he didn't locate it nearly as well. But the left-hander still managed to gut through 6 1/3 innings. Despite needing 69 pitches to get through the first three, he ended with 104, giving way to Julian Tavarez in the seventh with the game tied at 3-3.

It was in that transfer, from the Nationals' steadiest starter to their rickety relievers, that Washington fumbled the game.

Ryan Zimmerman's throw bounced in front of Nick Johnson and allowed Kevin Youkilis to reach safely with one out. Then Tavarez gave up a single to Jason Bay, which forced the Nationals to walk Mike Lowell and load the bases for Jason Varitek.