Lannan Suffers Another Tough Loss

Dodgers 3, Nationals 2

LOS ANGELES, July 25 -- On all sides, the odds closed in on John Lannan, narrowing his margin for error into nothing. Surely he knew.

There he stood, sixth inning, backed into the kind of corner where only a zero helps you escape. Though his team led, Lannan's offense had given scant reason to believe its run total would increase. And, though Lannan had dominated the game's first half, he had lost against the previous three batters, all of whom stood on the bases.

Typical of Washington's season -- and especially Lannan's -- victory depended on pitching perfection. And because Lannan dazzled for every inning but one, he lost. What happened in the sixth inning, once Lannan faced a bases-loaded, no-out situation, stung the Nationals with a 3-2 defeat Friday night at Dodger Stadium and secured another game for the rookie left-hander in which he pitched well enough to win, if only he pitched for a team other than his own.

Entering the sixth, Washington led 1-0. Lannan looked like Lannan, a 23-year-old who has, in the words of Manager Manny Acta, "proven time and time again that he is part of our future here." Through five, he had allowed just two hits. But facing the Los Angeles order for the third time, Lannan allowed back-to-back singles, both hit hard, by Juan Pierre and Matt Kemp. He plunked the next batter, Russell Martin, on the elbow.

When he started the next batter, Jeff Kent, with two balls, pitching coach Randy St. Claire rose from the dugout, placing the pause button on a growing frenzy.

Once the meeting was over, Lannan tried to escape. He battled back against Kent, forcing a string of fouls, then a lineout to shortstop. Next, Lannan faced Nomar Garciaparra, who looked at ball one. Lannan tried next to brush the outside corner with a fastball. Garciaparra grooved it to right-center field. Two scored. By the time the inning ended, a groundout to second had forced in another run. Lannan's record fell to 6-10.

Just one day after losing a 1-0 game in San Francisco, the Nationals resumed pitcher-dominated, tight baseball. The offense missed numerous opportunities, especially in the eighth, when Jesús Flores struck out with two on.

To keep the game close, having Lannan helped. Stellar all season, exceptional in parts of it, Lannan took the mound against Los Angeles having allowed just one run in his previous two games, a span of 12 innings. In both starts, he earned wins -- a tidal change in fortune for a pitcher whose run support has ranged between insulting and immeasurable.

Even in tenuous situations, Lannan responded with his best. A leadoff hit in the second begat a double play, a clockwork 5-4-3. A leadoff walk in the fourth begat another double play, this turn started by second baseman Felipe López, whose pivot and throw converted a Martin roller into a 4-6-3.

When Lannan wasn't getting outs two at a time, he was getting breaks just as big. That comebacker hit on a check swing by James Loney to start the fifth? Should have been trouble, because Lannan let the bouncer scoot off his glove. Thing is, Loney hesitated before running to first. When Loney decided to hustle rather than observe, Lannan already had recovered. The significance of that putout stood in bold relief one batter later, when Andruw Jones doubled off the wall. That might have tied the game; instead, the Nationals still clung to a lead.

Fitting with their insistency on small ball, the Nationals scored their only run with hits from the bottom of the order and a few sacrifices. To start the third against Los Angeles pitcher Chad Billingsley, Paul Lo Duca, the No. 7 hitter, and López, the No. 8 hitter, smacked singles. Lo Duca scored thanks to Lannan's bunt and Willie Harris's fly to deep center. Like that, Washington had its first run in 15 innings.

It would make little further progress. A run scored in the eighth, drawing the Nationals within 3-2, when Ryan Zimmerman splashed an RBI single to center, scoring pinch hitter Ryan Langerhans. When the Dodgers swapped Billingsley with Jonathan Broxton, though, Flores struck out swinging. Then, the Nationals went down 1-2-3 in the ninth against Broxton, who earned his third save.