(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Nationals' Cristian Guzman (15) rounds the bases after his solo home run Sunday as Baltimore Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora (6) looks on during the third inning of a baseball game in Baltimore. Nationals third base coach Tim Tolman (18) looks on.

Brian McNally, The Examiner
2008-05-19 07:00:00.0
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A rain delay is usually a low-key wait for a baseball player. Watch some video. Play some cards. Just relax until the storm passes and the ballgame resumes.

But the second weather delay of the afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on Sunday could have been anything but tranquil for Nationals’ rookie starting pitcher John Lannan.

His day finished just as a second batch of showers hit, Lannan had pitched into the eighth inning, allowed no runs on just four hits and a walk, and his team was up 2-0. But, as the Nats and Orioles waited in the clubhouse for the brief 27-minute rain delay to end, there were still runners left on second and third base to think about.

Not that Lannan was worried with a bullpen that has done the job behind him more often than not since he reached the big leagues last summer. Reliever Luis Ayala escaped that eighth-inning jam with just one run scoring and the Nats held on for a 2-1 victory over Baltimore.

“That was Greg Maddux-like on his good days,” Nats manager Manny Acta raved after Lannan’s performance.

The kid who began last season in Class A ball at Potomac baffled the Orioles by commanding his fastball and his breaking pitches — including a rouge change-up that was cutting more than Lannan would like, but still kept Baltimore off balance. Lannan (4-4, 3.40 ERA) threw 105 pitches and an astounding 68 percent were strikes. That will get a pitcher mentioned with future Hall-of-Famers like Maddux every time.

“That’s what got me here. Last year that’s all I did is try to throw strikes and get ahead of the batters,” Lannan said. “I got caught in some of the starts this year being timid and trying to pick at the corners. But today I was like, ‘you know what, hit it.’ And that’s it. Just trusting my stuff.”

Washington (19-26) salvaged a win from the three-game series in Baltimore and posted a winning record on its seven-game road trip. The Nats return home tonight to play Philadelphia at Nationals Park. The Orioles (23-20), meanwhile, had a four-game winning streak snapped.

NATS NOTES

The scheduled 1:35 p.m. game didn’t begin until 3:36 after a 121-minute rain delay. A second delay in the eighth inning lasted 27 minutes.

Nats closer Jon Rauch earned his 10th save of the season by retiring three of the four Orioles he faced in the ninth inning. That is now 12 straight scoreless appearances for Rauch.

Nats SS Cristian Guzman opened the scoring with a home run off Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie in the third inning. In the eighth, Ryan Zimmerman delivered a run-scoring double.