John Lannan is all too familiar with the idea of pitching an effective game but walking away with nothing to show for it. Last season, the young left-hander recorded 21 quality starts but wound up with only nine wins because of a lack of run support.
So Lannan wasn't all too surprised Friday night when he met a familiar fate against the Marlins. Despite allowing just one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings, he earned no decision after closer Joel Hanrahan blew the save in the ninth and Saul Rivera allowed the game-winning run to score in the 10th in a 3-2 loss to Florida. Lannan, who was roughed up a bit in his first two starts of the season, was much more pleased with the way he threw this time out ... even if it didn't result in a victory. He located his fastball with more consistency and threw 65 of his 99 pitches for strikes.
Still, he would have liked to come away with his first win of the season at night's end. But by now, he knows the drill and how to deal with it.
"Last year taught me that it's just part of the game," he said. "Sometimes it doesn't go your way, and you just have to go out there and work hard for your next outing."
MARLINS 3, NATIONALS 2 (10 innings): Joel Hanrahan blew his first save opportunity of the season, spoiling John Lannan's strong start and sending Washington to yet another loss to Florida. Lannan (one run, three hits in 6 1/3 innings) was in position to earn the win when Hanrahan entered in the ninth and served up a game-tying homer to Cody Ross. Saul Rivera then lost it in the 10th by allowing three straight two-out hits. The Nationals lost for the fourth straight time this year to the Marlins and for the 18th time in their last 21 games against their NL East rivals.
