Do the Nationals Have an Edge Over the Red Sox in Starting Pitching?

What’s shocking about this series, however, is that while the Sox boast the best record in the American League, the Nationals may have the advantage in the pitching matchups.

I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve been able to say that all year.

Lets check it out:

Brad Penny, RHP (6-2, 4.94) vs. John Lannan, LHP (4-5, 3.38 ERA)

Penny is one of the most inconsistent pitchers in baseball. He will have a half-season where he is the best pitcher in the game, and then he'll look like...well, how he looks now.

Penny has been overwhelmingly average since joining the Red Sox this year. The truth is, he just hasn’t been the same pitcher he was in 2007, when he went 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA.

In 2008, he struggled with injuries, and this year he has been very up-and-down with the Bo-Sox.

*Note: During his time in the NL, Penny went 12-5 against Washington, with a 2.54 ERA.

John Lannan, on the other hand, is a young pitcher who is very hot right now.

Red hot.

In his three starts this month, he has pitched 23 1/3 innings and allowed only three earned runs and 13 hits. Lannan has clearly regained his form from 2008, and is staking his claim as one of the better left-handed pitchers in the NL.

If he could shut down the Boston Red Sox lineup, weeks after shutting down the Mets and Yankees lineups, he will have truly made his mark.

Jon Lester, LHP (5-6, 4.69) vs. Craig Stammen, RHP (1-2, 4.76)

Lester is a great story. The young man battled back from cancer, pitched a no-hitter, won a world series, and now is one of the best strikeout pitchers in the Majors.

But, while he shined in 2008 as a 24-year-old (going 16-6 with a 3.21 ERA), he has struggled in comparison this year. His strikeout rate is up, but his hit, run, and home run rates are way up.

Maybe he is being more aggressive, or maybe he still has a lot to learn. Either way, he has the potential to put up a great performance any given night.

Stammen was the man of the hour in Yankee Stadium last week. The right-hander earned his first career victory while pitching six shutout innings in the bandbox in the Bronx.

It was the start of the first shutout in New Yankee Stadium, and may have been Stammen’s coming out party.

John Smoltz, RHP (0-0, -.--) vs. Jordan Zimmermann, RHP (2-3, 5.03 ERA)

Smoltz is one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, and a future Hall of Famer. He will be making his first appearance of 2009 against somebody the Nationals are hoping will have similar accolades in 20 years.

Smoltz has a 21-12 record with a 2.55 ERA against the Montreal/Washington franchise in 68 appearances, both as a starter and reliever.

In contrast, Zimmermann had one of the best starts of his career in his last outing against Toronto. He continues to have powerful stuff that generates a high strikeout rate, and once he learns to control his mistakes and cut down on hits, he'll be dominant.

Zimmermann actually has a similar skill set to Smoltz. Both are small-framed power pitchers with sharp breaking and off-speed stuff.

This should be a fun matchup.