The Craft Beer of the Week comes from California, and it is a dandy of an amber ale. It is the Red Rocket Ale from Bear Republic Brewing Company. The color in the picture says it all, and the smooth sweet taste will make you forget that you paid about $15 for the six pack. It is definitely worth a try, as are all the other beers that Bear Republic produces, so break one open if you are over 21 for the Nats finishing the first half of the season tied for first with the Braves.
Overall Record: 51-42
Standing: tied for first place in the NL East with the Braves
The Nationals are exactly where they want to be at the All-Star break; Tied for first in the NL East, although this week saw its ups and downs. The bullpen got hammered in a few games, giving up six runs in the top of the 11th to Baltimore last Monday and failing to bail out Jordan Zimmerman on Friday when he left the game with arm pain. More specifically, Craig Stammen got hammered this week giving up 9 hits and 7 earned runs in only 4 innings of performance. The Nationals still have the lowest team ERA in all of baseball, but Stammen needs to buck up after the All Star break. Luckily, the Nats had another great outing from Rafael Soriano who made sure that Ryan Zimmerman's 2-out RBI in the top of the 10th on Saturday became the game winning hit by picking up his 22nd save of the year. Soriano's ERA is now 0.97, and that will be greatly appreciated as the Nats enter the second half of the season.
The Nationals' hitting also saw its ups and downs as well. Their weekly average got bailed out yesterday in a 10-3 win over the Phillies where they hit .324 as a team, but that could only bring up their weekly average to a paltry .224. The Nats were also hitting 6-35 with runners in scoring position throughout the week, until yesterday when they went 6-7. Adam LaRoche and Bryce Harper have been the main batting average killers this week going 3-24 and 2-19, and Wilson Ramos went 0-6 this week with runners in scoring position. These three players combined to hit 1-13 with runners in scoring position, which comprised a third of the Nationals RISP at bats this week. We could have used some of those runs, especially when Ramos flies out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th in a 4-3 loss to the Orioles. Not all was lost this week, however. Jayson Werth hit 4 home runs and had 10 RBI's this week. Werth has now hit as many home runs in July (6),as he has the rest of the season. Ryan Zimmerman's aforementioned game winning hit on Saturday was a huge two out at bat, and Anthony Rendon continues to make the case for Nationals fans to complain about the All Star voting. Rendon had the highest weekly batting average on the team (.346) to go along with 3 RBI's, 7 runs scored, and an OBP of .392.
The Nats don't play again until Friday when they start a three game series against the Brewers, so enjoy a Red Rocket Ale on your days off, boys, and come back ready to keep pace with the Braves.
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