MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service, MASN has got all the bases covered.
Get the latest breaking news direct to your phone with our mobile texting service.
PHILADELPHIA - Thirty times this year, the Nationals' starting pitcher had made it through five innings. In only one of those games had John Lannan faced the Phillies, and none of them had come at Citizens Bank Park.
Even with Chase Utley out of the lineup and Jayson Werth in a Nationals uniform, the Phillies still have enough dangerous hitters to torment Lannan. And they've done it tonight.
They knocked Lannan out in the third inning, ending the Nationals' 30-game streak of having a starter pitch at least five innings, and they lead Washington 6-1 in the top of the fourth inning.
One of the things that makes this Phillies lineup so tough on Lannan is that it's stacked with lefties; even though Lannan is left-handed, his fastball runs in on lefties and he doesn't have a great breaking pitch, so he's got the same career average against lefties as he does against righties. And the Phillies' lefty-heavy lineup has feasted on him tonight.
