New York Mets starter Bartolo Colón and Chicago Cubs second baseman Ben Zobrist have been named National League Co-Players of the Week for May 2nd-8th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
In two starts last week, Colón posted a perfect 2-0 record to lead the NL in wins. The veteran right-hander posted a 1.72 ERA, allowing just three earned runs across 14.2 innings of work, while tying for seventh among NL pitchers with 12 strikeouts. Colón earned his 220th career victory on Monday, May 2nd with 8.0 scoreless frames and seven strikeouts in a 4-1 win over Atlanta. With the victory, Colón surpassed Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez for the second-most wins all-time by a Dominican-born pitcher, behind only Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (243). On Saturday, Colón fanned five in 6.2 innings of work while helping his own cause at the plate by clubbing the first home run of his 19-year career. The two-run blast gave the Mets a 4-0 lead in the second inning of an eventual 6-3 victory at San Diego. At 42 years of age, Colón became the oldest player in Major League history to hit his first career home run, eclipsing the record previously held by Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who clubbed his first long ball at the age of 40 on September 19, 2003 at Milwaukee (Elias Sports Bureau). This is the fifth career weekly honor for Colón, who won most recently for August 31-September 6, 2015.
Zobrist paced the Majors with 15 RBI in seven games last week, helping his NL Central-leading Cubs earn seven straight victories. The 34-year-old slugger was tied for second among NL hitters with four home runs and eight runs scored last week, while collecting 22 total bases (T-4th) and posting an .880 slugging percentage (5th). Zobrist hit .360 on the week (9-for-25) and posted a .455 on-base percentage. The Illinois native collected at least one RBI in six consecutive outings last week, including a 2-for-2, two-home run, four-RBI performance in Friday's 8-6 victory over the visiting Washington Nationals. Zobrist also collected four RBI in Thursday's tilt against the Nationals, including a two-run homer in the eighth, which helped the Northsiders to a 5-2 win. With 11 RBI in a three-game span (May 4th-6th), Zobrist became the first Cubs player to accomplish the feat since Sammy Sosa drove in 16 from August 10-12, 2002. This is the third career weekly honor for Zobrist and his first as a member of the Cubs. He has twice been named American League Player of the Week (September 22-28, 2008 and April 25-May 1, 2011) as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Other noteworthy performances last week included Washington's Daniel Murphy (.483, 8 R, 14 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .828 SLG, .483 OBP); Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips (.321, 6 R, 9 H, 5 HR, 9 RBI, .893 SLG); and San Francisco's Jeff Samardzija (1-1, 1.72 ERA, 18 SO, 15.2 IP).
In recognition of their National League Co-Player of the Week Awards, Bartolo Colón and Ben Zobrist will each be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.