Nats win the night cap of double header
Welcome back to Washington, John Lannan (1-0). After a rough first inning in which Lannan in which he allowed 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs, Lannan settled down to pitch 7 quality innings, allowing just those two runs and 5 hits with 3 strikeouts. Overall, Lannan tossed 98 pitches in his season debut, 65 for strikes. The Nationals won the second game of a doubleheader, 5-2 over the Atlanta Braves, after dropping the first game 4-0. The Nats extend their division lead over the Braves to 2.5 games.
The Nats put together a big 8th inning to seal the game, feuled by an injured Bryce Harper., Harper fouled a ball off his ankle in Game One and was removed as a precautionary measure in the third inning, Fortunately for the Nats, an MRI was negative. Sitting and resting in the second game, Harper pinch hit int he eight inning and lined a single to left to get a run on base. Harper, despite a swollen ankle, stole second base to put himself in scoring position. Harper then scored from second base on an RBI single by Danny Espinosa. The kid had to earn even more respect from the veteran in the Nationals clubhouse. Wow. After a wild pitch advanced Espinosa to third base, Leon was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and third. Mark DeRosa then grounded to short stop, but was safe on a fielding error that allowed Espnoisa to score from third, giving the Nats a 5-2 lead.
Tyler Clippard entered in the ninth inning to pick up the save for the Nats. Lannan earned his first win since September 21, 2011. After dropping a 9-2 deficit and losing 11-10 in 11 innings and dropping game one of this double header, it was a needed win for the Washington Nationals. The Nats extend their division lead over the Braves to 2.5 games.
