Everything’s been going right for the Nats so far tonight. John Lannan has looked superb, throwing 78 pitches in the first six innings and controlling his two-seam fastball well. Adam Dunn hit a mammoth homer in the fourth, and the Nats scored two in the fifth with the help of a dubious call. They lead the Yankees 3-1 after six.
Now, the big question: Can they hold on?
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They’ve blown leads in the first four games of this road trip, and I think some of the answer tonight will depend on how long Lannan can go. He could make it into the eighth with a quick inning coming up here.
Washington’s fifth was set up when first-base umpire Larry Vanover called Cristian Guzman safe at first, despite replays that showed Alex Rodriguez’s throw beat him by a half-step. Guzman and Willie Harris scored on the next at-bat, when Melky Cabrera’s diving stab was nowhere near Nick Johnson’s shot to center. Johnson ended up with a triple, and the Nats had a 3-0 lead.
Robinson Cano (who has killed the Nats in this series) has the Yankees’ only run, which came on a homer off Lannan in the fifth. To that point, Lannan hadn’t given up a hit.
