Nats vs. Padres: Washington edges San Diego behind John Lannan, 2-1

SAN DIEGO — The causes and effects that shape baseball’s marathon season sometimes take time to sort through, and sometimes they become obvious right away. The Washington Nationals made an imaginative and desperate change to their lineup Saturday, hitting Jayson Werth leadoff and the pitcher eighth. And then they beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1, at Petco Park. One, clearly, had nothing to do with the other.

The Nationals didn’t win, and even their record at 5-5 with one more game to go on their West Coast swing, because of where John Lannan hit in the batting order. They won because he took the mound. Lannan allowed the Padres one run in 6¹ / ₃ innings, the fourth consecutive start in which he has allowed one or zero runs. Lannan, for the past month, has pitched in binary code.

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(Denis Poroy/GETTY IMAGES) - John Lannan of the Washington Nationals pitches during the first inning against the Padres.

Lannan is stringing together what might be one of the best months of his career. In his past four starts, Lannan has allowed two earned runs in 26¹ / ₃ innings. In his past five starts, Lannan has lowered his ERA from 5.03 to 3.60. He does not compare his present to his past, but this may be the best he’s ever been.

“I’m just rolling with it, you know?” Lannan said. “The sinker is there. The confidence is there.”

It really may be that simple. About three weeks ago, in Milwaukee, pitching coach Steve McCatty talked with Lannan for 45 minutes. The abridged version: “Know what you are.”

McCatty wanted Lannan to focus on and trust his sinker, and not to turn to secondary pitches in certain counts just because other pitchers might. Lannan is unique in his ability to induce bushels of groundballs by throwing his sinking fastball over and over. His sinker is really that effective, but it does not appear to be overwhelming, even, sometimes, to Lannan.

At the end of the fifth inning Saturday, Lannan came into the dugout and worried aloud to McCatty that the Padres were on to his sinker, and maybe he should rely more on his curve or change-up. “They’re sitting out there looking for it,” Lannan told him.

“John, we’re going into the sixth inning, and you’ve given up three hits and one run,” McCatty replied. “What’s wrong with that? You’re throwing the crap out of the ball. Trust yourself.”

After two quick outs, Lannan loaded the bases with two hits and an intentional walk. But induced a weak groundball by Brad Hawpe to end the inning and maintain the Nationals’ one-run lead.

“Just because you don’t throw the pitch that everybody else thinks is the right pitch in a certain count, it doesn’t mean you don’t know [how] to throw it,” McCatty said. “He’s been more focused the last four games on what he wants to do. You got to learn what you are. But you got to go to your strengths. Everybody can hit a fastball. But if you can keep it down, have some movement on it, you’re going to have success.”

For the game, Lannan allowed six hits and walked two. He struck out just one batter, Ryan Ludwick, and that was only after Ludwick crunched a foul ball that the umpires originally ruled was a home run. But he induced 12 of his other 16 outs with groundballs.