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Hanson takes first loss since May
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ATLANTA - John Lannan gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings and had his first two hits of the season to lead the Washington Nationals to a 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night.

Lannan also drove in two runs and earned the win eight days after he escaped with only a small cartilage break in his nose when he was hit by a line drive.

Lannan (6-6) didn't miss a start, and manager Davey Johnson called the left-hander "a tough kid from New Jersey" before the game. He actually is from Manhasset, N.Y.

Drew Storen pitched the ninth for his 24th save.
Wilson Ramos hit a two-run homer and run-scoring double for the Nationals. Alex Gonzalez hit a two-run homer for Atlanta.

Michael Morse's leadoff double sparked the Nationals' three-run second inning off Tommy Hanson (10-5). Morse scored on another double by Ramos before Lannan's bases-loaded single drove in two runs.

Lannan, a career .083 hitter, was 0 for 32 this season before his grounder bounced past Hanson and over second base, driving in Rick Ankiel, who walked, and Ramos.

Lannan added a single in the sixth after Ramos' homer.

Hanson suffered his first loss since May 27. He pitched 5 1-3 innings and gave up season-high totals of five runs on eight hits, falling to 0-2 in three starts against the Nationals this season. Hanson had two walks and eight strikeouts.
Lannan gave up five hits and four walks but was helped by double plays in the fourth and fifth innings.

A man dressed in a white wedding dress was quickly tackled by security officers after he ran into the outfield in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Players in both dugouts chuckled and fans cheered and flashed their cameras as the man stopped a few yards away from right fielder Jayson Werth.

Security officers started to escort the man off the field through the Braves' bullpen, but bullpen coach Eddie Perez apparently directed the group toward a tunnel behind the right-field foul pole.

There was a brief delay in the ninth when home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley was hit by Ankiel's foul tip. Danley, who appeared to be hit immediately below his facemask, was knocked on his back. He remained in the game.

NOTES: Lannan is 7-4 in 13 career starts against Atlanta, including 5-2 at Turner Field. ... RHP Chien-Ming Wang is scheduled to start for Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. He will make his fifth rehab start as he returns from 2009 shoulder surgery. ... Johnson said C Ivan Rodriguez is "getting close" in his recovery from a strained right oblique. ... Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez rested LF Nate McLouth to start Wilkin Ramirez against Lannan. ... There was a postgame concert by the B-52s.

 

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