The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

In honor of the MLB All-Star Game and festivities being held in DC this week, SweetDCSports is keeping the Nats Craft Beer of the Week local with this wonderful pick from Denizens Brewing Company in Silver Spring, Maryland.  It is their Macadocious Maibock and it has all you can ask for in a summer beer.  It is hoppy for the IPA lovers out there.  It has malts for those who don't want to have that hoppy aftertaste in their mouths, and it has subtle floral hints with a light body that makes you feel like you are drinking summer in a can.  There is a little something for everyone in this beer, so if your're over 21 please support local breweries and pick up a 6-pack as you try to enjoy watching the Nationals who had a little something for everyone this week as well.

If you wanted to see futility there was certainly enough of that to go around.  The Nats split their four game series with the last place Mets, and during that time they gave the Mets their 7th win in 27 home games and allowed Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler to get his first home win in over a year.  Speaking of pitching, most of the Nats starting pitching had a rough week.  The quintet of Scherzer, Gio, Roark, Rodriguez, and newcomer Austin Voth combined for one win, four losses, 24.1 innings, and a 8.14 ERA.  To be fair, Scherzer got the lone win and his 11th hit of the season (tied for first among pitchers), Gio lost a 2-0 decision, Roark hit the first triple by a Nats pitcher since 2007, and 13 of the 22 runs given up were from Rodriguez and Voth, but there needs to be more consistency within the rotation if the Nats intend to make up ground on their new NL East overlords to the north.  The Nats hitters had their own problems, as the Nats saw the return of Matt Wieters this week only to have him reaffirm that the catcher position will be a perpetual black hole this year as he was 2 for 18 with a .150 OBP.  Not be outdone was Trea Turner, who had to face a little bit of regression to the mean this week as he he was only 3 for 26 with an OBP of .178 and an OPS of .331. Those are not the numbers of a lead off hitter, but Turner's OBP each of the last four weeks was over .300, and two of those weeks it was over .400.  Let's just hope this is the universe playing cooler to Trea Turner and he can get back on track after the All-Star break.  It was not all bad news, though, as Nats fans who are fond of relief pitching, dominant starts from pitchers returning from the DL, OPS, and Daniel Murphy were treated this week.

The Nats bullpen has been much maligned since the beginning of June, but this week saw a reversal of fortune.  The Nats bullpen threw 20.2 innings and only gave up 2 earned runs while incurring no losses. Special nods go out to Ryan Madson, who in his three appearances gave up only one hit, one walk, and got the Nats' only save this week, and to Shawn Kelley who had his third straight week of shut out relief.  Kelley has only allowed 3 earned runs in his last 18 innings, and his ERA has dropped from 4.4 in the beginning of June to 2.54.  The Nats also had a pitching bright spot in Jeremy Hellickson.  Hellickson redeemed himself from his 4 inning nightmare last week to give up only 1 run in 2 games and get two of the Nats 3 wins this week.  Have a Maibock in hopes that Hellickson can lock down his starting position as Strasburg continues to rehab. The Nats hitting also had their bright spots as three Nats had an OPS over 1.0 this week.  Anthony Rendon (1.07 OPS), Adam Eaton (1.04 OPS), and Daniel Murphy (1.29 OPS) combined for 11 RBI, 4 doubles, and three home runs (all from Rendon), and honorable mentions go to Matt Adams whose SLG% was a .521 this week with 2 home runs.  Daniel Murphy also gets kudos for going 8 for 15 this week, and getting his 2 RBI's in a bases loaded pinch hitting situation against the Mets.  Now, let's see if he can do that against teams that didn't foolishly let him go in free agency.

Finally, this week saw the return of the legend of Bryce Harper as he won the Home Run Derby in dramatic fashion. Whatever this does for the Nationals season going forward, it has to show the Lerners that they need to start doing inventory on their assets to see how much they can offer Harper at the end of the year.  He is the straw that stirs the drink for the Nationals, and despite some of his numbers being down this year, he will be able to buoy the Nationals in times of need as he showed on Monday night.  It also showed that he wants to be here if given the opportunity, he will play his heart out for this city, and The Home Run Derby also showed that they cannot just let Harper walk without proposing a competitive offer if they want to save face with the fan base.  Harper wore his heart on his sleeve for the first time in a while, and he showed a glimpse of what he could give this city if he is locked up for the long term.  For now, though, lets just hope this inspires the Nats to close the 5.5 game gap with the Phillies once the season gets going on Friday.  Three games with the Braves this weekend and then it is off to Milwaukee to face the Brewers for a four game stretch. 

The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

This rendition of The Nats Craft Beer of the Week stays close to home with 16 Bar Stools from the Brookeville Beer Farm in Montgomery County, Maryland.  This is Brookeville's version of a Belgian Tripel, and while it has the signature sweet taste at the end that all Belgian Tripels have, Brookeville puts their own stamp on this beer to make it great for drinking in the summer.  There are tangy citrus notes to go along with a rich flavor and smooth body that masks the fact that it has an 8% ABV.  Please drink responsibly as the high ABV is coupled with high volume units (it is only sold in 16 oz. cans), and enjoy a unique Belgian Tripel in the hot DC sun.

The Nats certainly could have used a nice refresher early in the week as they were swept by the Red Sox and fell 7 games behind the Braves in the NL East.  The Nats were only able to score 7 runs in that series, which included a shutout in the last game, that led to Max Scherzer calling a players only meeting.  The meeting must have worked because the Nats went 3-1 against the Marlins in their next series scoring a total of 37 runs and coming back from the largest deficit in Nationals history (9-0) in the first game of the series.  The Nats hitters woke up against the lowly Marlins pitching staff, and there were some hitters who had an absolutely monster week at the plate.

Trea Turner and Mark Reynolds both had 2 home run games this week, with Trea Turner doing it in the comeback game on Thursday.  Turner hit his first career grand slam in that game that put the Nationals ahead 10-9, and he registered 8 RBI's in that game.  Turner's weekly OPS continues to be respectable at a .833, and he was even able to go 3 for 7 this week with runners in scoring postion. Not to be outdone was Mark Reynolds who hit 2 home runs this past Saturday in an 18-4 drubbing of the Marlins.  Reynolds also went 5 for 5 in that game with 10 RBI, which is only the fourth time that has happened in MLB history.  Reynolds was not a one hit wonder this week, however, going 10 for 14 (5 for 6 with runners in scoring position) with 12 RBI, 3 HR including a walk off HR on Friday Night, an OPS of 2.26, and he even pitched and got the last out for the Nats in a 10-2 loss on Sunday.

Turner and Reynolds were the leaders of an offensive explosion as all players were able to get at least one RBI this week, except for Michael Taylor, there were five Nats who hit over .300 (Reynolds, Turner, Adams, Goodwin, Taylor), and there were five players who had an OBP of over .400 this week (Reynolds, Adams, Soto, Goodwin, Taylor, Harper).  Harper's OBP this week should be a sign that he needs to be hitting higher in the lineup.  In his last 57 plate appearances he has an OBP of .473, but he has only hit .210 in that same sample size.  Bryce should be hitting either first or second in the lineup in order to get on base for the likes of Matt Adams, Mark Reynolds, and Anthony Rendon who should be in the three or four spot whenever they are in the lineup.  Reynolds' sample size maybe small, but his slugging percentage was a 1.5 this week, and Adams was 0.533.  The Nats will need to generate more runs as the pitching staff continues to suffer; Literally and figuratively.

Erick Fedde had to leave the 3-0 loss to Boston in the first inning with shoulder soreness, and while the MRI came back negative it is not a good sign for the Nats starting pitching when Strasburg's timetable for return in unknown.  That led to a week where the Nats bullpen threw a whopping 29.2 innings this week with some good and some bad.  The bullpen threw four scoreless innings on Friday Night in the 3-2 walk off win, but they also gave up 6 runs in 5 innings in a 10-2 loss on Sunday.  Ryan Madson was the leader in futility going only 0.2 innings with 4 ER on Sunday, and he got the loss on Wednesday against the red Sox.  Since June 4 Madson has thrown 10 innings of relief with an ERA of 8.44 and a WHIP of 2.15.  Madson may have been the works offender this week, but most of the Nats pitching took their lumps this week in their appearances.  Evidence of this was the fact that Shawn Kelley was the only Nats pitcher, starter or reliever, to throw 5 or more innings this week and not give up an earned run.  This may say more about the bullpen than the starting pitching, but the starters were OK at best this week.  Of the three wins the Nats had this week only one went to a starter and that was Max Scherzer on Saturday.  The other starters this week were shaky at best with Gio needing 114 pitches to get out of 5 innings in the 3-2 win on Friday, Jeremy Hellickson made his return this week and was responsible for all 9 runs in the comeback win on Thursday, and Tanner Roark pitched 11 innings this week giving up 20 hits, 13 ER, and he was charged with 2 losses.

Here's hoping that the Nats starters can get it together this coming week considering they are still 5 games back of the Braves, but with Jeffrey Rodriguez getting the start tonight expect a high flying affair.  In Rodriguez's last two starts he threw 9 combined innings and gave up 9 runs, but the Nats won both games.  Lucky for Rodriguez that the Nats have the Pirates for a three game series, and then travel to the Big Apple to face the bottom feeding Mets.  After this week the Nats will have not had a day off since June 27, so grab some 16 Bar Stools and have one for the Nats as they continue to grind and get back into first place in the NL East.

The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

A more familiar face graces this week's Nats Craft Beer of the Week because in times of turmoil you need a friend to tell you everything is going to be OK.  Sierra Nevada's Sidecar IPA does just that.  Sidecar is a variation of Sierra Nevada's classic Pale Ale, but it tones down the hops a tad in favor of a subtle orange flavor that is complimented by hints of malts that makes this a perfect summer beer.  You'll get a little bit of everything without having to be bombarded by an overwhelming hop flavor, and with a 6.8% ABV it will also get the job done where it counts so please drink responsibly.  Hopefully you grabbed a Sidecar while hugging a loved one this past week as you watched a mostly depressing week for the Nationals.

This past week saw the Nationals go 1-5 on the road against the Rays and Phillies, which increased their deficit in the NL East to 6 games.  The Nats also find themselves three games back in the NL Wildcard race, and with a 6-15 record in their last 21 games things are starting to get a little worrisome for the defending NL East Champions.  This week, especially, saw some team stats that are quite depressing.  The Nats had 238 plate appearances counting walks and HBP's.  They struck out in 60 of those plate appearances, which means that every time the Nats went through the order this week they struck out about twice on average.  Those whiffs at the plate were complimented by a .173 average with runners in scoring position this week.  The Nats had their lowest weekly total RISP at bats (46) in June, their lowest weekly RISP hits (8) in June, and four of those 8 hits came in one game, so you can see how the Nats were shut out twice again this week which brought the total number of times the Nats were shut out in June to seven.  The RISP hitting was a symptom of the Nats hitting under .200 in three of the six games this week, and in two of the remaining three games they could not crack .250.  Usually the Nats pitching gets them out of these kinds of funks, but aside from Max Scherzer and Tanner Roark the starters were less than impressive this week.

Scherzer pitched an absolute gem against Tampa on Tuesday, but he felt the Nats hitting futility first hand as the Nats were only able to muster three hits in a 1-0 loss.  Tanner Roark also had a fine outing giving up two runs, one earned, in six innings only to lose 4-3.  Other than those starts, the Nats went from mediocre to horrendous.  Jeremy Hellickson made his first start since being put on the DL June 4th and he gave up 3 runs in 4.2 innings, which is not bad but not great either due to the fact that the Nats could not drive in runs this week.  Even in their massive 17-7 win on Friday, Erick Fedde gave up 5 runs in 5 innings.  Gio Gonzalez, though, had the worst week of them all.  Gio collected two ugly losses this week that saw the return of the classic Gio Gonzalez meltdown.  He had two 40 pitch innings this week where he issued 7 total walks and gave up 9 earned runs.  In fact, over his last 5 starts Gio has pitched only 19.1 innings with a WHIP of 2.12 and an ERA of 9.31.  Lets hope he can get back on track this week because the bullpen also did not do the starters any favors.  Kelvin Herrera was the only reliever to not give up an earned run this week, and have a Sidecar for Justin Miller who gave up the walk off home run to the Phillies on Saturday that capped off a week where he threw 121 pitches in 6.2 innings of relief.  The only Nats pitcher to throw more pitches this week than Justin Miller was Gio Gonzalez, so maybe we see a little more of Kelvin Herrera this week to give Miller a break.  The Nats pitching, though, put them within one run four times this week, but the bats just could not get it done.

The Nats had five hitters (Goodwin, Taylor, Harper, Murphy, and Severino) hit for under .200 this week. Taylor and Severino are the futility winners as they both hit under .100 for the week.  Even the mighty Juan Soto came down to Earth this week, as he hit only .250 with 8 K's and 4 walks.  He still was able to go 2 for 8 in RISP situations, the best average for the Nats, and his 2 home runs this week kept his OPS above .800, but he needs to pick up more of the slack from the struggling line up.  The only two hitters who kept up their hot pace this past week were Anthony Rendon (.333 BA, 1.12 OPS, 5 RBI, 2HR) and Trea Turner (.375 BA, .964 OPS, 2 RBI, 7 Runs), which should give Nationals fans hope that Davey Martinez can adjust the lineup to get more offense going.  Even Bryce Harper, despite his hitting woes, was able to lead the Nats this week with a .481 because of his 10 walks this week, so Davey needs to get these bats going by maybe shaking up the order a bit. 

My vote would be moving Bryce back to lead off and then going Turner (whose average and OBP has been one of the most consistent on the team), Rendon, Eaton (he has hit .333 with runners in scoring position this month), then Soto.  The six through nine hitters seem to be interchangeable, although I will continue to champion Kieboom over Severino at the catcher spot.

Whatever the lineup will be this coming week, the Nats better get in gear as the Red Sox come to town for a three games series followed by the Marlins. Hopefully the Nats can gain some ground on the Braves this week to stay within striking distance.

The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

SweetDCSports is taking a little bit of a detour from traditional summer brews with this beer in honor of a somewhat dismal week from the Nationals.  This week's beer comes from Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon and it is their Black Butte Porter.  Do not let it's dark color fool you. This beer is surprisingly easy to drink and goes down smooth, with just the right hints of coffee and chocolate to give it a wonderfully unique roasted flavor.  At 5.2% ABV and a light, creamy body it is a wonderful addition to any summer barbecue, and it is surprisingly affordable for a beer that comes from so far away.  It's dark color outlines a week for the Nationals that saw a little bit of ups, mostly downs, rain delays, and time travel.

 The Nats went back to the future as they made up a game last Monday against the Yankees that got rained out after 5 innings on May 15.  Technically those stats retroactively count for May 15, so Juan Soto hit his first major league home run 5 days before his official major league debut.  Wild stuff.  Fortunately that home run proved to be the difference as the Nats were able to win that game, and Soto continues to be a terror within the Nats lineup.  Soto hit .360 this week with an OPS of 1.14, which includes an OBP of .500 due to his 7 walks this week compared to only 4 K's.  Soto is even gaining the respect of pitchers as he was intentionally walked to load the bases on Sunday night against the Phillies in tied game in the 8th.  Daniel Murphy made them pay for that with a go ahead two run single, and Michael Taylor drove in Soto on the following at bat to take an 8-6 lead that the Nats would not relinquish.  Soto also joins Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon as the Nats whose OPS were above 1.00 this week, with honorable mention going to Michael Taylor whose OPS was a .970.

Speaking of Rendon, pop some Black Butte Porters for the guy who single-handedly carried this team through the week with eye popping numbers. He hit .448 this week with 3 HR's, 7 RBI, an OPS of 1.36 that includes a slugging percentage of .896.  The guy is getting it done, especially in the absence of Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy, but signs are pointing to those two coming around.  Murphy has 4 RBI in his last two games, and although Bruce only hit .240 this week, all of his six hits were doubles and he managed to have 3 RBI from the leadoff/second spot in the lineup.  Here's hoping those numbers increase for both Harper and Murphy, because if they can round out into form I pity the pitcher who has to face the Nats' 1-6 hitters, and Wilmer Difo is proving that he is not as easy of an out this week hitting .307.  While things may be looking up, there are a number of things that are keeping the Nats perpetually three games behind the Braves.

The Nats' woes this week start with the pitching, and send some Black Butte Porter to the bullpen who had major innings duty this week.  The Nats bullpen threw for a combined 30.1 innings of baseball and had a combined ERA of 4.15, with Sammy Solis contributing the lion's share of 5 earned runs in 3.1 innings.  Newcomer Kelvin Herrera was solid in his first relief appearance, but allowed 2 runs in the 8th to break a 3-3 tie on Saturday.  Let's just hope that is just not being familiar with the National League hitters.  The starters also had their foibles, with Tanner Roark giving up 6 earned runs in only 4.1 innings of duty. In fact, in is last 4 starts Roark's WHIP is a 1.83, meaning that he is allowing two base runners per inning over the last 4 games.  Not good.  But all the Nats starters were not that great, as no Nats starter was able to garner a win this week.  Jefry Rodriguez pitched in two unlikely wins as he gave up 9 earned runs in 9 innings this week, but the Nats were able to win both of those games.  Maybe he has an effect on the hitting, because outside of those two games the Nats batted .218 with an RISP average of .102 (4 for 39) this week.  The Nats could not give any run support to likes of Scherzer or Gio, and the main culprit is Pedro Severino.

With Matt Wieters out, Severino has been the guy at catcher but mainly because he is a warm body that takes up space.  Severino is a ripe 3 for his last 42 at bats (yes you are reading that right) with only 3 walks, 1 RBI, and he is 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.  Compare those numbers to Spencer Kieboom who is 4 for his last 15 with 5 walks, 1 RBI, and he has scored 2 runs and it may be time to give the catching duties to Kieboom even if there are concerns about defense.  Severino has been a black hole over the last three weeks, and if the upper part of the order is going to get on base and create offense they need someone at the bottom to keep it going.  Here's to Kieboom getting more of the starts this week as Wieters continues to rehab.

The Nats squandered a home stretch as they will be on the road this upcoming week.  They have two games in Tampa with Gio and Max on the hill, and then they fly back north to face the Phillies for a four game series that will have major implications for the NL East standings as the All-Star Break approaches.  Hopefully the trio of Fedde, Roark, and Rodriguez can pull it together this week so the Nats can keep pace with the Braves.  Rodriguez's starts have been especially entertaining, so grab a couple of Black Butte Porters as you cheer on the Nats this week.

The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

This week's craft beer come from the Brawling Bear Brewing Company located right here in Maryland.  It is their Low Blow Blonde Ale, and it is the perfect compliment to watching baseball in the summer.  The beautiful golden color belies a crisp and refreshing beer that one would expect from a blonde ale.  What is unexpected is the malt undertones that gives this beer a wonderful flavor that is a welcome detour from the never ending dross of IPA's that show up at this time.  Low Blow also packs a little bit of a punch at 6% ABV, which is higher than a normal blonde ale, so please drink responsibly. 

Responsible drinking may have proven to be a difficult task this week as the Nationals went 1-4 and fell 3.5 games behind the Braves for the NL East lead.  This futility was fueled by a number of firsts for the Nats pitching staff.  Max Scherzer lost his second consecutive game on Saturday, which was the first time he had lost two consecutive games in over three years.  Justin Miller finally gave up his first run of the season in a 6-5 loss to Toronto, and Ryan Madson gave up his first home run on Sunday in over a year.  Unfortunately it took 5 minutes for Madson to give up another home run as the Blue Jays went back to back off of Madson in the 8th inning to break a 6-6 tie and send the Nats home without a win in their trip to the great white north.  Speaking of home runs, Nats pitching gave up 12 home runs this week, and they have given up 19 home runs in the last 11 games.  That is not a good recipe for success, and something the Nationals need to clean up going forward.  The Nationals' pitching firsts this week were a little depressing, but the hitting firsts were a little more joyus, even if it did not translate into many wins.

This week saw the return of Daniel Murphy to the lineup, and while he went 2 for 20 at the plate this week that second hit drove in a run on Sunday and it looks as if he is getting back into form.  Juan Soto made some firsts this week as well.  Soto hit two home runs against the Yankees on Wednesday making him the youngest National to ever hit 2 home runs in a game, and he is the youngest player to have a 4 RBI game since 1975.  Those two home runs also gave Soto his second consecutive week where his OPS was above .900 (.981), and while his batting average is nothing special over that same time frame (.264) he is proving to be the Nats' main producer of extra base hits.  If Soto was the extra base hit man then Michael Taylor and Adam Eaton were the ones that padded the Nats' average.  Taylor went 6 for 10 this week and had four stolen bases, and Eaton went 6 for 18 with an RBI.  Anthony Rendon also did a little bit of everything as he went 5 for 18 (.277), he had an OBP of .333, and he was 2 for 4 with runners in scoring position.  Speaking of runners in scoring position, who has had the most RISP at bats for the Nationals over the last two weeks?  That's right, it is Wilmer Difo. Difo has had 17 at bats over the last two weeks with runners in scoring position, and with those opportunities he has only mustered 2 hits and one RBI.  It may be time for Davey Martinez to move Taylor down to the 7-8 spot and have Difo hit earlier in order to drive in more runs.  Difo's struggles, though, are nothing compared to the Nats' biggest hole in the lineup this week.

Bryce Harper continued his hitting woes as he went 1 for 16 (.063), no RBI, and 8 strikeouts.  In fact, Harper has struck out 16 times over his last 38 at bats.  Luckily he was able to draw three walks, and get hit by two pitches, this week to make his OBP not suck, but Bryce is watching his $400 million pay day slowly slip away.  Hopefully he can get back on track this week as the lowly Orioles come to Nats Park for a three game series.  Following the O's are the Phillies as the battle for second place in the NL East will take place.  Kicking of the week, though, will be the Yankees, who come to town to make up the suspended game from May 16.  Hopefully, the Nats can right the ship and close the gap between them and the Braves this week, so enjoy a Low Blow Blonde Ale and hope the Nats can put up better performances this coming week. 

The Nats Craft Beer of the Week

SweetDCSports is bringing back posts that it started in its infancy.  There is nothing better in the summer than watching baseball and drinking beer, so we are bringing back the Washington Nationals Craft Beer of the Week.  Get your weekly Nationals update along with a craft beer suggestion that you can buy at your local stores.  Please note that these beers are my personal choice and in no way are endorsed by the Washington Nationals, and do not buy them if you are under 21.  So, without futher ado...

The first beer chosen is in honor of the Washington Capitals winning the Stanley Cup, and how that made everyone in DC feel about themselves.  Jovial is a Belgian Style Double Ale from Troegs Independent Brewing in Hersey, Pennsylvania, and it is a great alternative for those looking for relief from the unending parade of flavored IPA's that come out in the summer.  The chocolate, toffee, and molasses flavor will make you feel better about yourself, and the cork at the top will let everyone at the party know that you are better than them.  At 7% ABV please drink responsibly as you watch the Nationals try to hit the ball a little bit more consistently than they did this past week.

Not even Alex Ovechkin could make Bryce Harper feel more jovial as the Capitals descended on Nats Park on Saturday on their Stanley Cup Drinking Binge 2018.  Ovechkin raised the Cup every time Harper took the plate, but maybe his rooting for the Golden Knights gave him some bad juju.  Harper had 8 strikeouts this week to go along with a paltry .181 average and a .217 OBP that led the Nationals to a 3-3 record over the last 6 games.  Wilmer Difo may need a jolt as well, considering he led the team with 8 plate appearances with runners in scoring position and got as many hits as I did in those situations.  It may be time for Davey Martinez to look and see if the lineup can be switched to give someone more of an opportunity in those situations, but the Nats only hit .277 in RISP situations so the grass can only get a little greener.  And pass an old Jovial to Brian Goodwin and Pedro Severino who need to forget their 0 for 7 and 0 for 12 week and try to move on.  It also may be time to see more of Spencer Kieboom as he had a big hit in Saturday's win against the Giants, and went 2 for 6 overall this week with an RBI.  The pitching situation was just as depressing as the Nats saw Strasburg, Kintzler, and Hellickson go on the DL, and even the intrepid Max Scherzer gave up three walks in a 2-0 loss on Monday.

Not all was doom and gloom this week.  Juan Soto continued his sensational season this week with a .934 OPS (including a .434 OBP), 5 runs, 3 RBI, and drawing a whopping 5 walks.  Michael Taylor and Matt Adams also gave the Nats some on base help as they both had OBP and batting average's above .400 this week, with Taylor also having an OPS above 1.  Anthony Renson also chipped in with hitting close to .300 this week, and he was 3 for 6 in RISP situations.  There was even an Adam Eaton sighting as he went 1 for 4 and scored 2 runs in Saturday's win against the Giants.  Most of the bullpen was on point, and Sean Doolittle was 2 for 2 in save situations this week, but there just needs to be more consistency across the board as the Nats continue on a tough week ahead.

First up are the Yankees, as the Nats begin a road tour of the AL as they will spend two days in New York and fly further north for a three game series against the Blue Jays.  Hopefully, Matt Adams gets the lion's share of the DH duties as the Nats try to stay atop the NL East with the Braves this week.  Pop a couple of Jovials and enjoy the week to come.

The Caps Winning The Stanley Cup Has Killed DC Fandom

What are DC Sports Fans supposed to do now?  The Capitals historic win on Thursday Night eradicated all of what being a fan of DC Sports is all about.  Pain.  Misery.  Self Loathing.  Getting high off of crazy preseason optimism knowing that it will all come crashing down in some horrible self fulfilling prophecy in the playoffs.  Doing simple arithmetic to show others how you have never seen, or were too young to remember, a professional championship in DC.  All of that is gone now.  What is left is something that will define the type of fan base this city truly has and whether it is ready to support sports teams through genuine fandom, or if their support only goes as far as frenzied feelings of FOMO.

DC Fans seemed to take the frivolous statement from Michael Wilbon, that Washington DC was a "minor league sports town", a little too much to heart, and they were a little too quick to point to the outpouring of fans at the Caps viewing party Thursday night as evidence to the contrary.  While it was amazing to see how many people came out to support the Caps, many of those people were there to be a part of the scene rather than show their enduring support for a team they have cheered for for years.  Stories were abound about how these Stanley Cup Playoff Games were the first hockey games that a lot of these people watched, and they went down to Capital One Arena on Thursday simply because they did not want to miss out on the festivities.  But winning a championship does not instantaneously turn these people into regular fans.  Just ask the Carolina Hurricanes how many interlopers from their 2006 Stanley Cup Championship are still there.  Or look at the Miami Marlins, who would kill for a quarter of the people who jumped on their bandwagon in 1997 and 2003 to still be there today.  DC Sports fans now find themselves in a similar situation.  The Capitals have drawn in multitudes of fans to their cause, but mostly due to fear of missing out on a social scene.  It will take more than that to prove Michael Wilbon wrong, and now it is time to see if DC Fandom truly has what it takes to foster a genuine "sports town" atmosphere.

The Capitals have removed the security blanket from DC Fans by winning the Stanley Cup.  For so long the narrative has been that it is hard to develop a genuine sports culture in DC because of so much ineptitude, impotence, and playoff tragedies galore from all the DC professional sports teams.  Most of that has been washed away by the Capitals victory on Thursday night.  Fans were witness to a team that was intelligently put together and mentored throughout the season.  They saw the likes of Max Scherzer, Ryan Zimmerman, and Derrius Guice show their support for the Caps on their run to the Cup.  The teams are doing all they can to create a unified sense among all the different teams and superstars, and now they have at least one championship to show for this shared unity.  It is now on the fans of Washington DC to show that they will show long term support for a team like the Capitals because they love the sport, and not because they love the number of Instagram likes they get when they post stuff with #ALLCAPS.  DC Fans now must show that they can evolve from a fan base of self loathing to one that can legitimately support their teams by watching games and becoming informed fans, and not just jump on every time a championship rolls around.  The Capitals have put the onus on DC Fans to prove that this city can be more than an event driven town that fluctuates based on the level of attention each sport will bring to the individual.  DC fans need to show that this city can be one with an informed fan base that will continue to grow in mass no matter what time of year it is.  If this does not happen, then maybe DC is just a minor league sports town, but we know now that it is not because of the nature of the teams.  It is the nature of the fans.