Tuesday night, the starting pitching saved the day. Depending on who you ask, it saved the franchise. But in last night’s win over the Pirates, fans had to look elsewhere for their savior.
The Nationals' starter, John Lannan, had a tough act to follow with Stephen Strasburg pitching the night before — and he did not deliver. When Lannan’s night was finished after just four and two-thirds innings, he had given up five runs, four of them earned.
“It was pretty bad,” Lannan said. “My tempo was really slow. I got to get back to my regular tempo. I thought I made some good pitches at times but they made a lot of contact.”
Manager Jim Riggleman thought that Lannan would be able tow work through early inning troubles as he was knocked around for three runs in the third then one in the fourth and fifth innings.
“He couldn’t get out of trouble” he said. “He threw a lot of pitches they did a good job not swinging at.”
It was up to the Nationals’ bullpen to come through and save the day as they were not getting much help from Lannan. Tyler Walker came into pitch during the fifth inning. Normally this is not a great sign for Washington.
Walker’s role in the bullpen usually delegates him to the middle of the game. This often means the starter did not last very long.
“You figure out your role in the bullpen so before that phone rings, you know who it is,” Walker said. “I come in the third through six, and then [Drew] Storen comes in, then [Tyler] Clippard, then Matt [Capps]. It’s a nice feeling to have an order and roles out there set.”
Walker and the other trio in the back end of the bullpen all did their jobs as they went four and a third innings without allowing a run. Riggleman acknowledged how important they are while at the same time how short starts like this may lead to over use.
“Walker did a great job,” Riggleman said. “I just can’t call on Storen or Clippard in the fifth. We’re going to over-fatigue those guys if we do too much of that.”
The Nationals’ offense took advantage of a Brad Lincoln’s major league debut and was able to provide support to for their struggling starter. Trailing 4-2 going into the bottom of the fourth, the Nationals were able to string together hits to take a 5-4 lead. Back to back doubles from Roger Bernadina and Ian Desmond drove in a run each.
The Pirates went on to tie the game in the fifth which would be another run attributed to Lannan’s start. The Nationals would take the lead for good in the seventh inning when Ryan Zimmerman drove in Cristian Guzman.
Matt Capps sealed the game Nationals as he continues to try to work out of his own struggles. “I think he’s more happy about it than he’ll let on,” Walker said of his fellow reliever. “Hopefully he can get number three [of the series] tomorrow.”
You can reach this staff writer at slindauer@theeagleonline.com
