Yordan, Rodgers take home weekly league honors
Henry Palattella
@hellapalattellaYordan Alvarez and Brendan Rodgers both welcomed June with a week to remember. For their efforts, they were named the Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet on Monday.
Alvarez, who inked a six-year, $115 million contract extension Friday, mashed his way through last week¡¯s stretch of games, slashing .565/.630/1.217 in six games with four home runs, eight RBIs, two walks and only one strikeout.
After starting the week with a two-homer game against the Athletics on May 30, Alvarez recorded three RBIs against the Athletics on Wednesday before celebrating his extension with a home run on Friday. He finished the week with a home run and triple Sunday in the Astros¡¯ win over the Royals.
On the year, Alvarez is tied for second in baseball with 16 home runs and is fourth in slugging (.624) and OPS (1.015). This is his first time winning Player of the Week -- he was previously named AL Rookie of the Month three times in 2019. Alvarez becomes the second Astro to win Player of the Week this year, joining Alex Bregman, who won this season¡¯s first award on April 9.
Rodgers' award-winning week is part of a month-long resurgence. After batting less than .100 through April, Rodgers has looked like a different hitter since the calendar turned to May. That said, last week was the best stretch of Rodgers¡¯ career, with the highlight coming in the second game of the Rockies¡¯ doubleheader on Wednesday, as Rodgers mashed a career-high three home runs, with his final long ball coming in the form of a two-run, walk-off winner.
Across the week, Rodgers batted .345 with four home runs, seven RBIs, four walks and two doubles. On Sunday, Rodgers served as the Rockies¡¯ offensive catalyst in their 8-7 loss to the Braves, finishing the afternoon with a two-run double, single and solo home run. Since May 1, Rodgers is slashing .344/.566./.945 with six home runs and 25 RBIs.?
This is Rodgers¡¯ first career award win, and he becomes the first Rockies player to nab the NL Player of the Week Award since C.J. Cron won last August.