A different John Lannan (Beckett shutting down Nats' bats)

In John Lannan's first three major league starts this season, he allowed a total of five earned runs, pitched to a 2.41 ERA and earned the win in all three games. I was starting to believe the Nationals would be best off just running Lannan out there every day. You can't argue with guy who wins every time he takes the mound, can you? It wasn't the same Lannan out there today. And there's no chance Lannan moves to 4-for-4 in the win category. The lefty went just 3 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He put at least one runner in scoring position in each of the four innings he worked and was pulled with the bases loaded. Chien-Ming Wang came in to replace him, making his first major league appearance since June 30. He promptly threw a wild pitch on his first offering, bringing in a run. The Nationals now trail 6-0 as we go to the sixth. They're being out-hit 10-1 and have done nothing against Josh Beckett, who is looking like the Beckett of old tonight. He's faced the minimum over five innings. Update: Seriously, Beckett is dominating the Nationals tonight. He's allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings, and with the Nats down 6-0, Davey Johnson has started to empty his bench. Corey Brown has replaced Jayson Werth in right, Chad Tracy is taking over for Ryan Zimmerman at third base and Tyler Moore is now playing first, giving Adam LaRoche the rest of the night off. The three pitchers to take the mound for the Nats tonight have been Lannan, Wang and Zach Duke. They combined to make 65 minor league starts this season. Can't say I expected to see that trio tonight with the Nats having a chance to clinch a playoff spot.