John Lannan takes to the hill this afternoon looking to lead the Washington Nationals to their second straight win over the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. Jason Marquis outdueled Giants ace Tim Lincecum on Friday evening, throwing a complete-game five-hitter as the Nationals won 3-0.
Both Washington and San Francisco enter this afternoon's contest a game below .500 at 12-13. Marquis' performance Friday night was the 25th straight game in which a Washington starter has gone at least five innings, which sounds nice on paper but has translated to a middling start in the standings.
Lannan (2-2, 4.05 ERA) faces another lefty in San Francisco's Jonathan Sanchez (2-1, 3.21 ERA). A particular matchup to watch for is Sanchez against new Nats acquisition Jayson Werth. Werth is 0-15 in his career against the young SF lefty, with eight strikeouts in those 15 ABs.
First pitch is at 4:05 from Nats Park, that is if you can pry yourself away from the 2011 NFL Draft and the Redskins busy afternoon.