Craft Beer of the Week (7/7)

The craft beer of the week is a homegrown Maryland beer.  It is the Lucky 7 Porter from Evolution Brewery in Salisbury.  You will be hard pressed to find a better dark beer for the price.  Although it is not a light summer beer it is worth a try when eating any type of red meat.  It has a nice rich taste without being too heavy, and it is flavorful without losing the sense that you are drinking a beer and not some rancid milkshake.  Support Evolution Brewery if you are over 21, and open one up to celebrate the evolution that Nationals seem to be going through.

Weekly Record: 5-1
Overall Record: 48-39
Standings: .5 games behind Atlanta for first in the NL East

The Nationals found themselves in the midst of a five game win streak this week, and they have won seven of their last eight games.  Unfortunately, they are still a half game back of the Braves who had their nine game win streak broken on Sunday by the Diamondbacks.  This week saw a little bit of everything, which makes us hope that these wins are building character within the clubhouse.  The Nats won in a 13-0 drubbing against the Cubs on Saturday, they had to come from down 3-0 to beat the Rockies on Wednesday, and they were able to win a pitching duel 2-1 on Sunday in the bottom of the 8th on a 2 out double.  A big reason for this new found resiliency could be the new lineup with a familiar face that came back this week.

The Nats bats came alive with the return of Bryce Harper.  Harper only went 4 for 21 with a team high 9 strikeouts, but he adds an element to the lineup that allowed the Nats to have one of their best team offensive performances of the season.  They out scored the Rockies and Cubs 35-13 while hitting .302 as a team, and .369 with runners in scoring position.  The Rockies and Cubs are not necessarily the class of the National League, and the Nats had trouble with the bats on Sunday when they faced a tough pitcher in Jake Arrieta, but the big guns have come alive in a big way.  Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman brought the wood this week.  Werth went 9 for 20 with 2 HR, 9 RBI, and he hit .625 with runners in scoring position.  Zimmerman continues to come up big hitting 11 for 21 with 6 RBI's, three of which came with two outs, and one that gave the Nats the lead in the bottom of the 8th against the Cubs on Sunday.  Ian Desmond hit over .400 this week and now leads all MLB shortstops with 53 RBI's.  This overview would not be complete without mentioning Gio Gonzalez who got his third win in four appearances this week, and he has now pitched 22 consecutive scoreless innings. 

This week was really about who performed the least best.  Adam LaRoche cooled off a bit this week only hitting 3 for 21, but he got his 12th HR of the season against the Rockies.  Tanner Roark gave up 4 ER for the second straight appearance and received the only pitching loss of the week.  The Nats just need to keep the bats hot as they split a four game series with the Orioles this week before going on a three game road trip to Philly.  This will be the last week before the All-Star break, so lets hope the Nats finally break the Braves and go on break in first place.