His goal was to avoid going down in the record books, but John Lannan may have made a name for himself anyway.
The rookie Washington Nationals left-hander held Barry Bonds without a hit in four plate appearances Monday night in San Francisco, preventing the Giants slugger from breaking baseball's all-time home run record for at least one more day.
Barry Bonds adjusts his helmet after drawing a walk off the Nationals' John Lannan in the third inning of Monday's game in San Francisco.
(Eric Risberg/Associated Press)
"I was just trying to keep my composure and follow the game plan," Lannan said. "I was just trying to keep the team in it and go out there and make my pitches."
After going 0-for-3 with a walk, Bonds at least came away with a consolation prize as the Giants won 3-2 on Randy Winn's 11th-inning RBI single.
Making just his third major-league appearance, the 22-year-old Lannan got Bonds to foul out to third in the first inning before walking him in the third. Lannan then induced the left-handed slugger to hit into a double play in the fifth and struck him out swinging in the seventh, after which Bonds was removed from the game.
Lannan also left after the seventh, finishing with a line of one run and eight hits allowed while walking five and striking out two to come away with a no-decision.
"I thought he pitched him well the whole game," said Nationals manager Manny Acta, who showed confidence in Lannan by keeping him in to face Bonds with a runner on in the seventh.
Bonds will have another chance to surpass Hank Aaron's 755 career homers on Tuesday night (10:15 p.m. ET), when the Nationals send lefty Mike Bacsik (5-6, 4.19 ERA) to the mound.
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