Washington -- Washington National rookie starter John Lannan has pitched in his share of bad luck this season, considering that he has been one of the better pitchers for a team that is last in most batting statistics. But Monday night, facing a team that currently leads the N.L. East, Lannan took matters into his own hands, allowing only one hit and one earned run over seven innings, and the beleaguered Nationals bullpen suffered no repeat of Sunday's collapse, holding on for the 7-2 victory over the New York Mets before 21,759 patrons at Nationals Park.

Lannan (W, 9-13, 3.97) had struggled a little bit of late, but was sharp from the very beginning on this beautiful evening for baseball. The game time temperature was 77, and dipped to the low 70s with a light breeze by the middle innings. By that point, Lannan was well in control of the game. He scattered three walks, and struck out seven, including all-star 3B David Wright and the resurgent 1B Carlos Delgado twice each. Lannan has three 1-2-3 innings, including the sixth and seventh, showing his team that he does indeed have the strength to pitch deep into a meaningful game. He threw 59 of his 97 pitches for strikes, and left after the seventh to a standing ovation from the Nats faithful.

Offensively, Washington was paced by 2B Anderson Hernandez' two-run double in the sixth inning and Elijah Dukes' three-run shot in the eighth, his twelfth of the season. Ryan Zimmerman and Aaron Boone both drove in runs, Lastings Milledge went 3-for-4 with two runs and a stolen base, and all-star SS Cristian Guzman added two more hits.

The defense even chipped in with an outstanding diving catch by Willie Harris in left field, robbing OF Fernando Tatis of a hit, and two double plays, none bigger than in the top of the eighth, as Michael Hinckley, who has yet to surrender a run in seven and two-thirds innings since his call-up, got Wright to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to quash any chance of a Mets comeback.

But John Lannan's progression from draft pick to prospect to rotation mainstay was the story of the night. His development remains one of the main topics of what otherwise has been mostly a season of disappointment for the Washington Nationals and their fans as they challenge for the worst record in the major leagues.

The four-game series continues Tuesday night, as Odalis Perez (6-10, 4.48) and the Nats try to play spoiler against Mike Pelfrey (13-9, 3.77) and the Mets, who find themselves perilously close to another late-season division lead collapse.

NATS NOTES: The win puts the Nats record at 57-93. Washington is 26.5 games behind the Mets in the division, who now are only one-half game ahead of suddenly red-hot Philadelphia. The Nats are one-half game "ahead" of both Seattle and San Diego for the worst record in baseball.

Pittsburgh, PA -- Ryan Doumit, catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, went 2-for-3 with his fourth home run of the series and drove in three of the Pirates seven runs, leading his team past the visiting Washington Nationals 7-5 in a Thursday matinee in the River City. Doumit was absolutely on fire in the three-game series, going 9-for-11 with four home runs, two doubles and seven RBIs to help the Pirates take two out of three from the Nationals.

The Pirates jumped all over Nats starter Jason Bergmann (L, 1-4, 5.48), scoring two in the first, two in the second and two in the fifth. Bergmann finished the day going four and two-thirds innings, surrendering six runs -- four earned -- on eight hits and one walk. He struck out two. In the first, Pirates third baseman Freddy Sanchez reached on Ronnie Belliard's throwing error and Doumit launched a 2-2 pitch to right field, continuing his dominance of Washington pitching. In the second, Doug Mientkiewicz, Chris Gomez and Jack Wilson all singled consecutively off Bergmann, and Bergmann compounded the trouble by then walking pitcher Tom Gorzelanny, forcing in a run. Nate McLouth then hit a sacrifice fly to score Gomez. It could have been worse, but Sanchez grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

The Nats got one back in the third, as Cristian Guzman (3-for-5, 3 RBIs) singled and scored on Elijah Dukes' triple with one out. But the Nats stranded Dukes there, as Lastings Milledge popped out to second and Aaron Boone flied out to left.

The fifth inning would be Bergmann's final undoing. Gorzelanny helped his case again by singling to center and McLouth hit a ground-rule double to right. Jason Bay then sacrificed to right field, scoring Gorzelanny, and Doumit singled in McLouth. Gorzelanny got the win, his fifth of the season against five losses, going five and two-thirds innings, with three earned runs on six hits, three walks and six strikeouts.

The Nats wouldn't roll over Thursday though. In the sixth inning they started to claw back. Wily Mo Pena doubled with one out, and Wil Nieves walked with two outs. Dmitri Young pinch-hit for reliever Brian Sanches and drew another walk, filling the bases. Guzman delivered for the Nats, singling up the middle, bringing in Pena and Nieves and pushing Young up to second base. Dukes then hit one to right that scored Young from second, but Dukes was gunned out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

The score was 6-4 entering the eighth and the Nats would strike again. Ryan Langerhans singled with one out and went to third on Young's single up the middle. Guzman provided yet another big hit, driving in Langerhans, cutting the lead to 6-5. But that's as close as it would get, as Dukes and Milledge would both strike out against Pittsburgh reliever Franquelis Osoria with two runners aboard. The Bucs would get an insurance run in the bottom of the frame off Jon Rauch (1 IP, 1 ER, 2 hits, 1 BB) with pinch-hitter Jason Michaels driving in Gomez with a double.

The Pirates turned to Damaso Marte to close the ninth inning, having used their closer Matt Capps in four straight ball games. Marte was perfect, retiring Jesus Flores, Belliard and Pena in order, finishing off the Nats and giving the Pirates the series victory.

On Friday, the Nationals return to interleague play, with their very first games against the Seattle Mariners. Shawn Hill (0-3, 4.35) faces Miguel Batista (3-7, 6.00) in the 10:10 pm EDT start at Seattle's Safeco Field.

NATS NOTES: The loss drops the Nationals record to 26-42, thirteen and one-half games behind Philadelphia entering play Thursday night.

Aaron Boone left the game in the sixth inning with a strain on the right side of his neck. After the game, Boone said he'd likely be back in the line-up within "a day or two".

LHP Odalis Perez will miss his next start, and is a candidate for the disabled list now, according to Manager Manny Acta.

Photo courtesy of A. Amobi, DC Sports Box.

Doumit Powers Pirates Over Nats 7-5 also posted at DC Sports Box

RESULT: Nats lose to Padres 4-2.

GOOD: Aaron Boone homers again! Who needs Zim? (uh, the Nats do) Anyway, Boone connected off of Randy Wolf in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead, a lead the Nats would hold for jst two innings. Boone has 5 homers, tied for second with Nick Johnson and Cristian Guzman. The back-up corner infielder has more homers than the entire starting outfield, despite having less than one-third the number of at bats (339 for Milledge, Pena and Dukes, 80 for Boone).

BAD: Meathook: 0-for-4 with a K. His average is an even .200. He's just 7-for-35 overall with the one home run, coming Monday against Milwaukee.

UGLY: Rob "Mendoza" Mackowiak. Another pinch-hit appearance, another pop out. He's hitting .149/.255/.234 (7-for-47). Seriously, just let the pitchers bat!

NEXT GAME: Wednesday night from San Diego at 10:05 pm EDT. Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.13) versus Shawn Hill (1-0, 2.33). Estes is a remarkable story, pitching very well in three starts after missing almost all of 2006 and all of 2007.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008

San Diego, CA--Adrian Gonzales and Kevin Kouzmanoff hit back-to-back solo home runs off two Washington Nationals relievers in the seventh inning to turn a tie game into a 4-2 victory before 18,774 at Petco Park in San Diego Tuesday night.

With two outs in the frame, Gonzales hit his fifteenth of the season on a 0-1 count with two outs from just promoted rookie Charlie Manning (L, 0-1, 7.71). Manning had successfully struck out Padres second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and got right fielder Brian Giles to ground out to short. But Gonzales made no mistake on the one-strike fastball, depositing it over the left-center field fence, taking a lead the Padres would not relinquish. Left fielder Wily Mo Pena tried to make a leaping catch at the wall, but came up empty. "I tried to get the ball in on him and the ball stayed up in the zone," Manning said. "I made a mistake and paid for it." It was Gonzales' fourth home run in his last six games.

Manager Manny Acta then pulled Manning in favor of Joel Hanrahan, who has been in command much better of late, but Kouzmanoff took the first pitch he saw from Hanrahan to almost the same spot in left-center that Gonzales hit moments before. Hanrahan got out of the inning and pitched the eighth as well. He went one and one-third innings, allowing just the one earned run on two hits and no walks, striking out three in the process.

It was a tightwalk all night for the Nats, as starter Shawn Hill was without his best stuff all night. He surrendered only two earned runs on five hits in five innings with five strikeouts. But he also walked five Padres, giving them plenty of base runners all evening. San Diego managed to cash in on Hill's mistakes in the third inning, as he walked Gonzales, Kouzmanoff and Khalil Greene in succession, then gave up a single to catcher Michael Barrett (1-for-4, .188) on a 3-2 count with two outs.

The Nationals' pair of runs came in the first inning, as Aaron Boone -- filling in again for sore-shouldered Ryan Zimmerman -- homered against Padres starter Randy Wolf, driving in Cristian Guzman (2-for-4, .301), who had doubled the previous at bat. It was Boone's fifth home run of the season, tying him with Guzman and Nick Johnson for second on the team, behind Zimmerman's team leading eight. Although the Nats reached Wolf for seven hits, they could not push another run across the plate. Heath Bell (W, 1-3, 2.45) pitched a perfect one and one-third innings for the win and Trevor Hoffman added to his all-time lead in saves with his tenth of the season.

Game two of the three-game series is Wednesday night in San Diego, with Odalis Perez (1-4, 4.13) matching up with Shawn Estes (1-0, 2.33) at 10:05 EDT. Estes, 35, is making a comeback after missing most of 2006 and all of 2007 with injuries. He has started three games for the Padres and has yet to allow more than two earned runs.

NATS NOTES: The loss puts Washington's record at 22-31, nine games behind division-leading Florida.

Manager Manny Acta said Zimmerman (sore left shoulder) was available for pinch-hitting in the game. It was Zimmerman's second consecutive day off.

Hill pitched on eleven days rest, missing one start, during which he received a cortisone shot for the pain in his elbow. He's been unable to throw between starts as he is accustomed to, and after the game theorized that perhaps that's where the lack of command may be coming from. He threw 82 pitches, only 38 for strikes.

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008

RESULT: Nats lost in 11 innings to Brewers 4-3.

GOOD: Dmitri Young. His first home run of the season to left center field, creating the first home run controversy in Nationals Park history. Knowing there is about three feet between the center field fence and where the stands start for the Red Porch, we knew it was a home run immediately, but it took the umpires meeting at second base to remind themselves of the rules. And poor Dmitri, having to hustle all the was into third when the umpires couldn't get it right the first time. That's a LONG way to go for big guy, trust me!

BAD: Middle Relief. Two runs is a tenuous lead anyway, but Manny had to trust the lead to the rookies yesterday and it did not survive. The starters have been really good for the most part this year, but they are going to have to start pitching into the seventh inning or Ayala and Rivera will be fried before 4th of July.

UGLY: Aaron Boone. Hitting third, he went 0-for-5 with two Ks and 3 left on.

NEXT GAME: Tuesday night from San Diego. Shawn Hill (0-1, 4.08) tests his sore elbow against Randy Wolf (3-4, 4.76)

Washington, DC--On a drizzly Mother's Day Sunday afternoon, it appeared the Washington Nationals had found the recipe to defeat the visiting Florida Marlins. Shawn Hill's seven strong innings pitched and home runs by little-used Aaron Boone and Ronnie Belliard gave the Nats a 4-2 lead entering the eighth inning. But overworked reliever Luis Ayala was unable to hold the Marlins at bay in the frame, as he allowed three earned runs on three hits--including two home runs--to allow the Marlins to complete the sweep and send the Nationals out on the road wondering what they have to do to actually win against the team from south Florida.

The decisive eighth inning was ugly indeed for Ayala (1-3, second blown save), making his league leading 23rd appearance of the season. Slap-hitting Alfredo Amezaga reached on an infield single to start the inning. It was a hard one-hopper to first that Boone was able to knock down, but Ayala couldn't get to the bag quick enough to get the speedy Amezaga. On the next pitch, Jeremy Hermida jumped all over Ayala's fastball and sent it screaming into the right field bleachers to tie the game. Ayala was able to coax Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu into making outs, but couldn't fool Marlins' red-hot second baseman Dan Uggla, who ripped a 2-2 pitch into dead-away center field stands, just barely avoiding becoming the first batter in Nationals Park history to reach the batter's eye. It was Uggla's second homer of the game and third of the series.

The Nationals were able to get their lead-off hitters on base in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings, but to no avail. Belliard, one-for-three on the day with a homer and two RBIs, walked to start the eighth against Marlins reliever Renyel Pinto (hold--7), but Ryan Zimmerman promptly grounded into a double play to quash the burgeoning rally. In the ninth, Lastings Milledge led off with a walk, but Willie Harris popped out to right, Elijah Dukes popped out to second and catcher Jesus Flores bounced out to Marlins closer Kevin Gregg (save--7) to end the Mother's Day festivities.

Florida reliever Logan Kensing pitched the seventh inning, surrendering just one hit, and earned his second win of the season with no losses. Marlins starter Scott Olson settled down after a rough start to keep the Marlins in the game, and allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks in six innings pitched.

Nationals' starter Shawn Hill deserved a better fate. He looked really strong all game, and allowed two earned runs on just five hits and no walks in seven innings. He gave up one run in the second as he hit Uggla, allowed a single to Luis Gonzales that moved Uggla to third, and a sacrifice fly to first baseman Wes Helms. Hill also surrendered Uggla's first home of the day, a solo shot in the sixth. Hill still has no decisions in five starts this season, with a 3.56 ERA, with 18 strikeouts in 30.1 innings pitched.

Aaron Boone, starting for Nick Johnson against the lefty, went three-for-four on the day, coming within a double of hitting for the cycle. He homered in the second, tripled in a run in the third and singled in the sixth. His last at bat ended with a fly out to right field.

Washington begins a four-game series with the division rival New York Mets Monday, with Odalis Perez (0-3, 3.43) facing Nelson Figueroa (2-2, 4.81) at 7:10 pm in Shea Stadium.

NATS NOTES: The loss drops the Nationals' record for the season to 15-23, 8.5 games behind division-leading Florida. Washington is 9-16 against division rivals and 1-8 against Florida this season.

Washington will be on the road for the next week, playing four in New York and a three-game weekend series in Baltimore, the traditional "geographic rival" portion of interleague play.

Reliever Chris Schroder was recalled from Triple-A Columbus, replacing left-handed starter Mike O'Connor, who was optioned back to Columbus following the game. O'Connor was 1-1 while with the big club, but was hammered in his only start Saturday evening.

The team has not announced a starter for Thursday's game in New York, which would have been O'Connor's turn to start.

Nats Lose 5-4; Swept by Marlins also posted at DC Sports Box

Photo (c) C. Nichols 2008