John Lannan’s Got His Groove Back

For the folks out there with 9-5’s, the Nationals beat the Braves 6-2 in an afternoon matinee at Turner Field yesterday. What’s more remarkable is who played the biggest role in getting the win: former “ace” lefty John Lannan.

In the game, Lannan went 5 1/3 innings, only allowing 2 runs. He had good location on his fastball and was able to mix in his changeup effectively. His stuff was so good that he struck out 5 of the batters he faced, which is kind of a big deal for a contact pitcher like him. It was a quality start (though not an official one) from a pitcher that has struggled on the mound this season.

If for some reason you stopped watching baseball from April to June, you probably missed the fact that Lannan has not been having a great year. In his first 14 starts of 2010, the Nats’ de facto ace had an ERA of 5.76, the worst in his career. He’d failed to go 5 innings in 3 consecutive starts, had allowed 7 walks in those starts, and had also given up at least 10 hits in each appearance.

Lannan’s location was a mess, and for contact pitching (as well as real estate), location is key. A pitch that misses its spot even a little can easily turn from a routine groundout into a single that scoots right past the infield. Things looked so bad that the team sent him down to one of their minor-league affiliates, the Harrisburg Senators, so that he could fix whatever was causing him to struggle.

But that all appears to be water under the bridge; Lannan’s found his groove again. In 4 starts since returning from the minors on August 1^st, Lannan has gone 3-0 and posted a much-improved ERA of 3.09. He’s gotten groundouts instead of allowing singles and he’s even developed a knack for getting timely strikeouts. (Interesting Lannan Statistic #1: In his last 4 starts, Lannan has fanned 15 batters. Compare that with the number of batters he fanned in his first 14 starts: 24. Yikes.)

It’s a good thing Lannan’s found himself again. And with Jason Marquis stalling, Scott Olsen crumbling, and Stephen Strasburg experiencing growing pains, he’s helped himself by making an airtight case that he belongs in the starting rotation despite any changes that may happen in the next few weeks (and trust me, there will be changes).

As someone who’s seen some pretty awful pitching from the Nationals in the last month, it’s great to have John Lannan back on the mound.