Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves named National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet; Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros named American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Less than a month after this pair earned the same feat, All-Star first baseman Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves has been selected the National L**eague Player of the Wee**k presented by Chevrolet, and All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Olson earned his third career selection and second of the season after previously winning on August 14^th. He is one of six Braves players to take home their franchise-record seven awards this season, joining his teammates Sean Murphy (May 8^th), Michael Harris II (June 20^th), Ronald Acuña Jr. (July 3^rd), Austin Riley (July 24^th) and Eddie Rosario (August 21^st) as their 2023 winners. Atlanta’s seven awards on the season tie a single-season franchise record, joining the 2022 St. Louis Cardinals; the 2017 Miami Marlins; the 2007, 1996 and 1977 Boston Red Sox; the 1995 Los Angeles Dodgers; the 1988 Cincinnati Reds; and the 1980 New York Yankees. Altuve earned his fifth career selection, also marking his second of the year after previously winning on August 14^th. He joins teammates Framber Valdez (August 7^th) and Chas McCormick (July 17^th) as the Astros’ winners this year. Altuve’s five career Awards are the second-most in Houston’s franchise history behind Jeff Bagwell, who won weekly honors on six occasions.

Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (@matt_olson21)

• The 29-year-old hit .545 (12-for-22) with four home runs, eight RBI, a double, four walks, eight runs scored, a .630 on-base percentage and a 1.136 slugging percentage in six games last week.
• The Georgia native led the Majors in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (1.766); tied for the big league lead in hits (12); and led NL hitters in homers and total bases (25).
• The two-time All-Star has recorded multiple hits in each of his last five games, the longest streak of his career with multiple hits in consecutive games. Olson is the second Braves player with five consecutive multi-hit games this season, joining Austin Riley’s stretch from August 28^th through September 1^st. Entering play today he is attempting to become the first Braves player with six consecutive multi-hit games since Andrelton Simmons did it in July 2014.
• The first baseman slugged home runs in three straight games to open the week, hitting a solo home run in each game against St. Louis. He drove home two runs with a single in the seventh inning of Sunday’s contest against the Pirates in which Atlanta clinched their fifth straight Postseason berth.
• Since May 2, 2021 as a member of the Oakland Athletics, the reliable infielder has appeared in 438 consecutive games through Sunday, marking the longest active streak in the Majors. During the streak, the only game he did not start was on September 24, 2022, when he entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning.

Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (@josealtuve27)

• The 33-year-old hit .357 (10-for-28) with six home runs, eight RBI, nine runs scored, a .400 on-base percentage, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a 1.400 OPS in six games last week.
• The Venezuela native led the Majors in home runs and total bases (28); tied for the Major League lead in runs; tied for the AL lead in slugging and extra-base hits (6); tied for second in hits; ranked third amongst AL leaders in OPS; tied for fifth in RBI and ranked 10^th in batting average.
• The six-time Silver Slugger hit a home run in each of the first three innings on Tuesday at Texas to become the fourth player in Major League history with a home run in each of the first three innings of a game, joining Manny Machado in 2016, Mike Cameron in 2002 and Carl Reynolds in 1930.
• Combined with his ninth-inning homer on Monday, the 2017 AL MVP became the first player since at least 1961 to homer in four consecutive innings. His five combined home runs across Monday and Tuesday tied a Major League record for the most in a two-game span.
• The eight-time All-Star hit back-to-back home runs twice with Mauricio Dubón on Monday at Texas, marking the second time in Astros history in which the same players hit back-to-back homers twice in a game, joining Hall of Famer Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman, who did so on July 25, 2005 against the Phillies.
• Altuve recorded hits in five of his six games last week, reaching base safely in all six contests.

Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included infielder Marcus Semien (.462, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 2 BB, 8 R, 1 SB, 1.000 SLG) of the Texas Rangers; starting pitcher Pablo López (1-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 17 SO), rookie infielder/designated hitter Royce Lewis (.364, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .591 SLG) and outfielder Willi Castro (.500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 7 R, 2 SB, .850 SLG, .542 OBP) of the Minnesota Twins; Altuve’s teammates first baseman José Abreu (.318, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .682 SLG) and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez (.474, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1 2B, 9 BB, 7 R, 1.000 SLG, .621 OBP) of the Astros; starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (1-0, 0.69 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 16 SO) of the New York Yankees; designated hitter/outfielder Edward Olivares (4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 R, 1.167 SLG) of the Kansas City Royals; relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks (0.00 ERA, 4 G, 3 SV, 4.0 IP, 11 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and outfielder Aaron Hicks (.476, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 4 R, .667 SLG, .542 OBP) of the Baltimore Orioles.

Other noteworthy NL performances last week included outfielder Seiya Suzuki (.444, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 5 R, .889 SLG) and starting pitcher Justin Steele (1-0, 0.60 ERA, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 18 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; Olson’s outfielder teammates Ronald Acuña Jr. (.360, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 6 R, 1 SB, .720 SLG) and Eddie Rosario (.435, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 5 R, .609 SLG) of the Braves; starting pitchers Zac Gallen (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 9.0 IP, 9 SO) and Merrill Kelly (1-0, 1.42 ERA, 2 GS, 12.2 IP, 18 SO) of the Arizona Diamondbacks; designated hitter/outfielder Kyle Schwarber (.381, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 8 BB, 8 R, .952 SLG) of the Philadelphia Phillies; catcher Willson Contreras (.313, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2 BB, 4 R, .875 SLG) and infielder/designated hitter Nolan Gorman (.350, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1 2B, 3 BB, 7 R, .850 SLG) of the St. Louis Cardinals; and relief pitcher Tanner Scott (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 3.2 IP, 6 SO) of the Miami Marlins.

Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Leaping Catch to Save No-Hit Bid by Sal Frelick of the Milwaukee Brewers

September 10^th at Yankee Stadium – Watch It Here

Milwaukee Brewers rookie outfielder Sal Frelick earned his first career Play of the Week Award. This marks the first Play of the Week Award for Milwaukee this season and its seventh since the inception of the Award in 2019, joining Lorenzo Cain (March 28, April 26 and July 22, 2019); Jackie Bradley Jr. (May 17, 2021); Luis Urías (June 7 and July 19, 2021); and Jonathan Davis (July 5, 2022). In the bottom of the 10^th inning on Sunday with the potential winning run on base and two outs, Anthony Volpe of the New York Yankees hit a ball to the right field wall, but Frelick ran it down and made an outstanding leaping catch into the scoreboard for the third out. In addition to sending the game to the 11^th inning, the catch kept the Brewers combined no-hit bid intact. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Bryan Woo’s off-balanced throw to first; Nolan Jones’ outfield assist; Dominic Canzone’s catch near the wall; and Jordan Westburg’s long run and nice catch.