Nationals bullpen weakens vs. Marlins

By Bill Ladson / MLB.com

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals received a well-pitched game from left-hander John Lannan, but the bullpen dropped the ball for the Nationals, who were edged by the Marlins, 3-2, in 10 innings on Friday.

The Nationals had a 2-1 lead going into the ninth inning, and after nine games, closer Joel Hanrahan received his first save opportunity, but he couldn't get the job done. Known as a power pitcher, Hanrahan acknowledged that he was thinking too much on the mound. He decided to throw a 2-2 slider to Cody Ross, who hit the ball over the left-field wall to tie the game, 2-2.

"It was a poor-excuse pitch," Hanrahan said. "I wanted to bounce it off the plate. I tried to overthrow it, but it was a good pitch for him to hit."

Asked if there were any thoughts of throwing the fastball, which is his best pitch, Hanrahan said: "I thought about it, but that was probably the reason I got in trouble out there. I was thinking too much. You can only think about it when it's over. You can go back and say that you could have thrown the fastball, but if I were to throw a good slider, who knows what would have happened. It was a poorly executed pitch."

Nationals bullpen weakens vs. Marlins....