Lannan beats Jurrjens in rookie matchup

Atlanta Braves' Brian McCann (16) is tagged out by Washington Nationals third baseman Kory Casto as he tries to steal third base during the second inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 19, 2008 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

ATLANTA—John Lannan won his rookie matchup against Jair Jurrjens, Willie Harris continued his strong series against his former Atlanta teammates and the Washington Nationals rolled past the Braves, 8-2 on Saturday night.

Harris, a part-time starter for Atlanta last season, had three hits, two RBIs, a stolen base and scored three runs. He made a diving catch of a line drive by Gregor Blanco in center field to end the game and has five hits in the first two games of the series.

Harris and Cristian Guzman drove in runs with triples. Guzman was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Ryan Langerhans, another former Braves outfielder, was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored, giving him four hits in the first two games of the series.

Washington ended a six-game road losing streak with only its second win in its last 12 road games.

Lannan (6-9) gave up one run on seven hits in six innings to earn his second straight win, another strong road start.

Lannan lowered his road ERA to 2.44. Four of his six wins have come on the road.

Greg Norton hit a ninth-inning home run off Nationals closer Jon Rauch.

The Braves left the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings. They scored their first run in the fifth. Jurrjens, who walked with one out, scored on Chipper Jones' single.

Jurrjens (9-5), allowed eight hits and five runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Harris started a three-run third inning off Jurrjens with a single. Harris stole second and scored on Paul Lo Duca's double to right. Guzman followed with a triple to right to drive in Lo Duca. Guzman scored on Austin Kearns' fly to right for a 3-0 lead.

Jurrjens retired 11 of 12 batters before leaving the game in the Nationals' two-run seventh. Langerhans led off with a double and scored on the triple to right by Harris, knocking Jurrjens out of the game. Guzman added a run-scoring single off Buddy Carlyle.

Washington padded its lead with three runs off Royce Ring in the eighth. Harris drove in Langerhans with his third hit, a single. Lo Duca and Guzman added run-scoring singles.

Notes: RHP Rafael Soriano, who has been on the disabled list since June 6 with a sore right elbow, threw in the bullpen before the game and is expected to be activated on Monday, according to Braves general manager Frank Wren. ... 1B Dmitri Young, a diabetic, missed his second straight game with high blood sugar, difficulty focusing and dizziness, according to Nationals manager Manny Acta. ... Rauch pitched the ninth inning for the Nationals after missing Friday night's game due to what Acta called "family issues."