The Washington Nationals have climbed into a three-way tie for first place in the National League behind a recent hot streak fueled by good hitting, strong pitching, and banana and mayonnaise sandwiches.

Wait, what?

The Washington Post has the scoop on bullpen coach Matt LeCroy’s lucky pregame meal:

Earlier in the season, when the Nationals were struggling through injuries and inconsistent play, and before the current hot streak, LeCroy turned to a traditional Southern delicacy before games to snap the team out of its rut: a banana-and-mayonnaise sandwich on white bread.

“A lot of people were hurting in the beginning, and we needed some big wins so I thought, ‘I gotta go with the banana-and-mayonnaise,’” LeCroy said late last week. The Nationals are 5-0 on days when he eats the sandwich before the game, a fact that the jovial LeCroy is proud of.

It sounds totally disgusting, no doubt. But without trying a banana and mayonnaise sandwich, who among us can say so for sure? Sometimes disparate-seeming ingredients complement each other or create unexpected synergy when combined between two pieces of bread.

I figured peanut butter and bacon for terrible, until I tried a peanut butter and bacon sandwich and learned that it was, in fact, incredible. So before I judge Matt LeCroy or the Nationals, I will eat a banana and mayonnaise sandwich to test it out for myself. For work. It’s for work.

(Thanks to HardballTalk for calling our attention to this story.)