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Nationals' Lannan hopes to end career woes against Phils

Jun 1, 2011 - 2:44 PM (Sports Network) - Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results can be considered an irrational way of thinking.

John Lannan of the Washington Nationals can relate to that concept when facing the Philadelphia Phillies. The left-hander hopes to finally get the best of the NL East leaders when he takes the mound this afternoon in the finale of a three-game series from Nationals Park.

Lannan has lost both of his starts against the Phillies this season and was shelled the last time he faced the Nationals' division rivals in a 7-3 loss on May 5 at Citizens Bank Park. Lannan lasted just two innings, allowing six runs and seven hits to fall to 0-10 with a 6.44 earned run average in 13 career starts in this series.

The left-hander is just 2-5 with a 4.40 ERA in 11 starts this season and hasn't tasted victory since April 20 at St. Louis, having gone 0-4 with a 4.91 ERA in seven starts since that victory. Lannan was superb in his most recent start on Friday versus San Diego, however, as he delivered 7 2/3 shutout innings of two-hit ball in a no-decision of a 2-1 Washington win. He has lasted at least six innings in each of his last four outings.

Washington ended a six-game slide to the Phillies with last night's 10-2 pounding of the current NL East leaders. Phils co-ace Cliff Lee was hammered for six runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings, as Danny Espinosa cracked a pair of homers and drove in four runs to lead the Nationals. Michael Morse collected three hits, two RBI and a pair of runs scored for Washington, which ended a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 10 contests.

Morse has hit safely in a season-high nine straight games and hit .403 with five doubles, six home runs and 15 RBI in May, while Espinosa now has 16 home runs since last Sept. 1.

Nats starter Jason Marquis recorded the win last night after limiting the Phillies to two runs in 6 1/3 innings of work.

"We've been getting team wins all year," Marquis said. "Obviously the results aren't always what we want. But like I said, everything was flowing -- the hitting, the pitching, the defense. Hopefully we'll have more games like this."

The Nationals are in line for their first series win since taking two of three in Atlanta from May 10-12 and will begin an 11-game Western road trip against Arizona, San Francisco and San Diego tomorrow.

Philadelphia was hoping to build off Monday's 5-4 win over Washington, but lost for the second time in its last seven tries in the second test of this set.

Youngsters Domonic Brown and John Mayberry hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning to provide the offense for the Phils, while Brown, Carlos Ruiz and Placido Polanco each had two hits in the loss.

Lee's performance was the story of the night for Philadelphia.

"They're professional hitters and if you continue to get behind a little bit and keep throwing balls over the plate, they're going to score runs," Lee said. "I have to do a better job at keeping balls inside the park, especially with men on and two outs."

The Phillies are 3-2 on a nine-game road trip that concludes with three games in Pittsburgh over the weekend. They will complete a stretch of 20 games in 20 days this afternoon.

Philadelphia outfielder Raul Ibanez is one RBI shy of 1,000 for his career and has driven in 13 runs in his last 13 games.

Making his ninth start of the season, Phillies veteran Roy Oswalt hopes to break out of his current slump when he takes the ball today. Oswalt is 0-2 with a 3.43 earned run average in his last four starts since opening the year 3-0 in his first four trips to the hill.

Oswalt did not record a decision in Friday's 6-4 win over the New York Mets at Citi Field, as he was reached for two runs -- one earned -- on nine hits over six innings of work. Oswalt has allowed only one earned run in each of his last three starts and is 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA in eight outings this season.

The right-hander is 2-1 in five road starts this season and owns a 5-3 mark with a 3.10 ERA in 17 career games (15 starts) against Washington.

The Phillies have won six of eight meetings with the Nationals this season and are 18-8 in the 26 matchups between the two NL East foes since 2010.