Brandon Moss of the Oakland Athletics named the AL Player of the Week

Oakland Athletics first baseman and outfielder Brandon Moss has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 18th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Moss batted .455 (10-for-22) with five doubles, one triple, three homers, 11 RBI, five walks and eight runs scored over six games to lead first-place Oakland to a 5-1 mark during the week. This is his third career weekly honor, last accomplishing the feat for the week ending September 1, 2013. Brandon led all Major League hitters in RBI, total bases (26), extra-base hits (9) and slugging percentage (1.182), was tied for first in doubles and was third overall in on-base percentage (.556). In the Junior Circuit, Moss was tied for second in homers, runs scored and times on base (15), was tied for fourth in walks and was fifth in the A.L. in batting average.

On Tuesday, Moss homered twice, doubled and drove in five RBI as the Athletics defeated the Chicago White Sox, 11-0, at O.co Coliseum. It was Brandon's fifth career two-homer game, last touching them all twice on August 28, 2013 at Detroit. Additionally, he became the first player in Oakland history to homer as both a first baseman and a left fielder in a single game. The performance marked his fourth game with five-or-more RBI. On Saturday, the left-handed-hitting Moss went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBI to help lead Oakland to a 6-2 triumph over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Brandon followed a Josh Donaldson RBI-single in the visiting half of the third frame with a two-run blast to break a 1-1 tie and give the A's the lead for good in the win. On Sunday, the 30-year-old went a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple, two walks, three RBI and a career-best four runs scored as Oakland defeated Cleveland, 13-3, to sweep the three-game series from the Tribe. Sunday's win gave the Athletics their ninth victory in the last 10 games and their best record after 44 games since the 1990 season (30-14).

Moss, an eighth round pick in the 2002 Draft (by Boston), has followed up his breakout season last year with a solid start in 2014. Heading into play today, the eight-year veteran is batting .301 (44-for-146) with 10 doubles, nine home runs, 39 RBI and 24 runs scored in 43 games this season. He is second in the A.L. in RBI, third in slugging percentage (.582), fifth in on-base percentage (.391) and tied for fifth in extra-base hits with teammates Yoenis Cespedes and Donaldson (21).

Other noteworthy performances in the A.L. last week included Moss' teammate Donaldson (.471, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1.118 SLG); Detroit's Miguel Cabrera (.458, 2 HR, 10 RBI) and Joe Nathan (4 SV); Cleveland's David Murphy (.522, 3 HR, 11 RBI); Boston's David Ortiz (.435, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 1.000 SLG); and the first career shutouts for Houston's Dallas Keuchel (5/13 vs. TEX), New York's Masahiro Tanaka (5/14 at NYM), Toronto's Drew Hutchison (5/16 at TEX) and Baltimore's Chris Tillman (5/16 at KC).

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