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Steam Dissipates Quickly for Nats
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The verdict?
Washington's lineup saw the Snell of 2007. "He had that good breaking pitch working," catcher Jesús Flores said.
And Pittsburgh's lineup saw the reason why Lannan is perhaps the Nationals' most reliable starter, a left-hander whose worth is measured more by ERA (3.43) than by record (4-7).
"This young guy is absolutely making sure we know he's part of our future here," Acta said of Lannan, who lasted six innings, allowing two runs. "He goes out there regardless of his stuff on any given day and gives us a chance to win."
Lannan and Snell exited at the same moment in the top of the seventh, the former for a pinch hitter, the latter for a reliever. They left behind a game Pittsburgh led, 2-0. A game much in doubt.
This time, however, the Nationals came up short.
They were just short of chasing down two key hits that propelled Pittsburgh to an insurance run in the seventh and a 3-1 lead off of Joel Hanrahan. Lastings Milledge just missed on a diving attempt for a Ryan Doumit flare to center, and second baseman Felipe López ended up two feet shy of catching Xavier Nady's RBI single.
They were just short, too, at the plate in the eighth, when Pittsburgh's Tyler Yates walked consecutive batters but then forced López into a fly out and Willie Harris into a soft groundout.
For the ninth, Capps returned to the mound. One night after his first blown save.
Milledge, whose two-run homer off Capps had highlighted the 7-6 win, was standing on deck when the game ended.
