Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles named American League Player of the Week

Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending June 14th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Machado batted .458 (11-for-24) with nine runs scored, two home runs, a double and five RBI over six games to claim his second career AL weekly honor, last winning with the Orioles on August 12, 2012. Among AL batters, Manny finished tied for first in runs scored and hits, tied for second in total bases (18), third in batting average, tied for fourth in home runs and fifth in on-base percentage (.519).

During his award-winning week, the 2013 AL All-Star recorded four multi-hit games and is currently enjoying a season-high- tying eight-game hitting streak, dating back to June 6th. Amidst the streak, the Hialeah, Florida native is hitting .455 (15-for-33) with three home runs and seven RBI. Six of his eight games have been of the multi-hit variety. On Saturday, the 22-year-old slugger went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a home run and a career-best four RBI. Dating back to April 21st, the 2013 AL Platinum Glove winner has hit safely in 38 of his last 49 contests and is batting .316 (61-for-193) with 22 extra-base hits and 18 multi-hit efforts. Now consistently leading off atop the Orioles batting order, the third overall selection in the 2010 MLB Draft is hitting .294 (47-for-160) with 27 runs scored, eight doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBI and 13 walks in his new role. Among AL third basemen, the four-year veteran paces his counterparts with eight stolen bases, is tied for third in runs scored (39), fifth in home runs (11) and tied for fourth in walks (22). Following his torrid week, the right-handed hitter raised his batting average by 20 points and is now hitting .286 (68-for-238) on the season. Led by Machado's stellar week at the plate and in the field, Baltimore went 5-1 and improved their overall record to 31-31, pulling within 3.0 games of the AL East-leading New York Yankees.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Russell Martin (.429, 9 R, 2 HR, 8 RBI) of the Toronto Blue Jays; Miguel Cabrera (.588, 1.000 SLG, 3 HR, 7 RBI) and David Price (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 CG, 1 SHO) of the Detroit Tigers; Albert Pujols (.435, .913 SLG, 3 HR, 7 RBI) of the Los Angeles Angels; Jake McGee (3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 6 SO) of the Tampa Bay Rays; and Jose Abreu (.409, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 18 TB) of the Chicago White Sox.

In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Manny Machado will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.