The Skinny: The Washington Nationals avoided a sweep in Houston by winning 8-3 on Thursday night. After losing the first two games in Houston by one run in each game, the Nationals game out swinging to improve their record to 15-20.
The Pitching: John Lannan was sharp once again in a start for the Nationals. Lannan went six innings and gave up only one run on seven hits to get his third win of the season. Lannan also struck out three Astros while walking only one. Luis Ayala made it interesting by allowing two runs, but Jon Rauch threw a scoreless ninth inning to close out the win.
The Hitting: Ryan Zimmerman continued his hot streak with three hits, scoring twice. Zimmerman now has eight hits in his last fourteen at bats and has his average all the way up above .250. Cristian Guzman also had two hits for the Nationals. One low light for that Nationals was that they did strike out eleven times in the game.
What’s Next?: The Nationals will leave Houston to head back home to take on the Florida Marlins for a weekend series. The three game series will kick off on Friday at 7:35pm.