Lannan Helps Nationals Shut Down the Cubs, Win Second Series

The second moment came in the sixth, when Lannan, pitching without his best command, issued a leadoff walk. With one out, Kosuke Fukudome hit a line drive to left. Peña broke in on the ball, and it sailed over his head, an out played into a double. Again, there were runners on second and third with one out.

"Just flush," Lannan said of how he deals with such situations.

"It shows that he was able to put that someplace in his mind that it didn't bother him and affect what he's trying to do," pitching coach Randy St. Claire said.

Instead, he got Mark DeRosa to tap a ball back to the mound. Lannan scooped it up, looked the runner back, and made the throw. He then induced a slow grounder to second from Cedeño. The gaffes were in the past, as was the Cubs' rally.

"The winners, when you make a mistake, they don't let it bother them," General Manager Jim Bowden said. "They go to the next pitch. They put it behind them."

Lannan's future, though, is squarely in front of him. "I'm having a ton of fun," he said. But five starts in a season, and 11 starts in a career, don't make a major league pitcher. "We're being cautious about it, about putting that pressure on the kid," Acta said.

For now, Lannan is putting pressure on others. His next start comes Saturday against Pittsburgh. Nine more shutout innings, and he's more than halfway to Washington's greatest pitcher, Walter Johnson.