The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

Can You Fig It?  A proper play on words for this week's craft beer as the Nats are rolling on the field, and this beer is made on the remains of a baseball field.  It comes from Peabody Heights Brewery that is located on the site of Old Oriole Park in Baltimore, but do not let that dissuade you from trying this masterpiece of body and flavor.  As the name implies, Can You Fig It is a German-style dark beer with dried figs and caramelized malts added to give it a smooth sweet taste that any beer drinker can enjoy.  It also has a lighter body than you would expect for a dark beer, and with only a 5% ABV this beer should be enjoyed year round even though it is billed as a winter warmer.  If you catch it at your local beer store (or MOM's Grocery) I highly suggest you try it as a nice way to celebrate the Nats' new found winning ways.

Crack open a Can You Fig It for the Nats winning their series against the Reds this past week.  It was the first time the Nats had won a series of three or more games since the July 5th series against the Marlins, and the Nats have now won 8 of their last 11 games.  Hopefully, the Nats will not have to wait another month for their next series win, and if the starting pitching can keep up the pace they set this week that is a definite possibility.

The Nats starters went 4-1 over the past five games, with Tanner Roark leading the way yet again with another 7 inning 1 run performance.  That makes Roark 3-0 over his last three starts going 22 innings and giving up only 2 earned runs.  Not to be outdone this past week was Tommy Milone who also gave up only 1 earned run in 7 innings while striking out 9 and getting his first win in over a year.  Max Scherzer had another 10K performance while driving in an RBI and improving his season batting average to .292, and Jeremy Hellickson gave the Nats 5.2 solid innings that probably could have been a full six if not for opposing teams hitting over .400 against him the third time around the order.  Which brings us to the black sheep of the rotation this week in Gio Gonzalez.  Gio was looking for his first win since May 28th, but alas he now has ten straight starts without a win.  In those starts he is 0-6, the Nats are 3-7, and he has averaged only 5 innings per start with a 6.20 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP.  If this trend continues, and Tommy Milone can give a few more quality starts, do not be surprised if Strasburg takes Gio's spot when he comes back and Milone replaces Gio as the lefty in the starting rotation.  That maybe a little far fetched but Davey Martinez needs to do something about Gio not being able to generate wins when he takes the mound, and maybe a nice little stint in the bullpen will help clear Gio's mind.  Despite Gio's struggles, the Nats starters set the winning pace this week, and the Nats hitters followed.

Bryce Harper continues to lead the Nats hitters as he is hitting .470 over the last five games with an OPS of 1.39.  Maybe the Home Run Derby did have an effect of Harper because since the All-Star Break he is hitting .367 with 14 RBI, 3 HR, and a 1.15 OPS.  The Nats will definitely need those numbers going forward if they want to catch the Phillies. Then again they will also need Juan Soto to get his third straight rookie of the month in August, as he has won that award for both June and July.  They need Trea Turner to continue to be the league leader in stolen bases as he upped that number to 30 this week.  And finally, they need their big guns in Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy to continue to produce in the middle of the lineup.  Murhpy  went 5 for 14 (.357) over these last five games, and since July 8 Murphy is hitting .406 with 3 HR and 13 RBI.  Rendon has been the most consistent hitter for the Nats over the course of this summer, and this week was no exception.  While his average was nothing special, Rendon managed to keep his OPS at 0.772 this week with 5 RBI and going 3 for 6 in RISP situations.  Since July 8 Rendon's numbers in those areas are even more impressive with 17 RBI, an .877 OPS, and 8 for 22 (.363) in RISP situations.  Here's hoping the Nats big guns can continue to bring the wood as they face a tough stretch ahead that will define their season.

It will be the battle of the division races this week as the Nats face the Braves for a four game series at home that includes a double header today, and then it is off to Chicago for a three game series with the Cubs.  Both of these teams are in the thick of their division races with the Nats trailing the Braves by 4.5 games for second in the NL East, so grab some Can You Fig Its and settle in for a season defining week of baseball for the Nationals.