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WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) – Consecutive strong starting pitching performances have the Washington Nationals in position to get back to .500.
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John Lannan looks to continue his team’s success on the mound and help the Nationals to a third straight victory Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.
After Livan Hernandez allowed two earned runs in eight innings of Washington’s 4-3 win over the New York Mets on Thursday, Jason Marquis tossed a five-hitter in Friday’s 3-0 victory over San Francisco.
According to MLB odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Giants -133 money line favorites for Saturday’s game against the Nationals. Current MLB Public Betting Information shows that 95% of more than 63 bets for this game have been placed on the Giants -133.
“Pitching controls the game,” Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said.
Washington (12-13) is the only team in the majors this season with at least five innings pitched in every game by its starters.
“It just goes to show our pitching staff is a lot better than what people think,” Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond said.
The consecutive victories have followed a stretch where the Nationals lost three in a row and six of seven.
Lannan (2-2, 4.05 ERA) hopes to give the Nationals another strong start when he faces the Giants for the first time since Aug. 6, 2007, when he allowed a run in seven innings of a 3-2, 11-inning loss at San Francisco.
In his latest outing, the left-hander gave up all of his season-high four runs in the fourth and lasted 5 2-3 innings in a 4-2 loss at Pittsburgh on Monday.
Lannan, however, is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA at home in 2011.
Marquis helped himself by driving in a run and outfielder Laynce Nix had a two-run homer in just his sixth start of the season Friday for the Nationals, who still have scored more than four runs once in the last nine games.
Desmond is 6 for 11 his last three games after going 3 for 3 with two doubles in the series opener. He’s 7 for 20 in seven career games versus San Francisco (12-13), which has lost six of eight and been shut out twice in the last three games.
Aaron Rowand had two of the five hits for the Giants, who have scored 19 runs and posted a .251 on-base percentage the last eight games.
“Hitting’s contagious. So is not hitting,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “Right now, we’ve got a serious virus in this lineup.”
Rowand has been one of the few bright spots for San Francisco of late, going 7 for 12 with five RBIs his last five games. He’s batting .391 over his last 12 games at Washington.
Aubrey Huff, meanwhile, is mired in a 3-for-31 slump after he went 0 for 4 on Friday.
Jonathan Sanchez (2-1, 3.21) takes the ball for the Giants trying for a third straight victory.
Sanchez, who has not allowed more than three earned runs in each of his five starts, gave up two and two hits in five innings while battling the flu in a 9-6, 10-inning loss to Atlanta on Sunday.
The left-hander is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts against the Nationals – all in Washington.
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