Two weeks in a row have seen a Baltimore Oriole win the American League Player of the Week Award. Last week it was Tim Beckham and this week, Manny Machado took home the honors.
BALTIMORE, Md. — Machado was named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending August 20th. The announcement was made on MLB Network on Monday.
After starting the season on a rough note, Machado has been hot as of late. Last week, Machado batted .385 (10-26), scoring four runs, a double, four home runs and 12 RBI in six games. This is his third AL Player of the Week Award, last winning on June 15, 2015.
Machado, a three-time All-Star, finished first in RBI (12), tied for first in home runs (4), second in total bases (23), tied second for XBHs (5) and ninth in slugging percentage (.885). Baltimore has three infielders that have won the award this season including the aforementioned Beckham (August 7) and second baseman Jonathan Schoop (July 23).
The 25-year old Machado was able to rack up a hit in each game during his award-winning week and is in the midst of a nine-game winning streak (dating back to August 11). Machado had two grand slams in Baltimore’s West Coast road trip, hitting one against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on August 7 and then another against the Seattle Mariners in last Monday’s matchup.
On Friday night, Machado finished off the night with a game-winning grand slam. It was his third grand slam of the month and the sixth of his career. Before that, Machado also hit two home runs. He finished the night with seven RBI.
This season, Machado is batting .266/.319/.492, with 127 hits, 26 home runs and 81 RBI in 478 at-bats (as of August 21, 2017). Machado is tied for the team lead in home runs with Schoop, is second on the team in RBI, second in doubles (28) and second in total bases (235).
(Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports)
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