Ryan Braun and Andrew McCutchen named National League Co-Players of the Week

Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers and Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates have been named National League Co-Players of the Week for the period ending May 24th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Braun led the Majors with 11 RBI last week and tied for the NL lead with three home runs. The five-time NL All-Star posted the league's second-highest slugging percentage (.952) and on-base percentage (.481), while tying for second in total bases (20). He hit .381 (8-for-21) on the week with five walks, four runs scored and a stolen base. On Friday, Braun collected three hits, including a home run and a pair of doubles, and drove in four en route to an 11-0 win over the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. He helped the Brew Crew slug their way to an 8-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Tuesday with a double, home run and four RBI. This is his fourth career NL Player of the Week honor and first since April 18-24, 2011.

McCutchen paced qualifying Major Leaguers with a .542 on-base percentage while leading the Senior Circuit with a 1.000 slugging percentage. The four-time NL All-Star's .450 batting average (9-for-20) was the league's second-highest, while his three homers were tied for the most last week. In addition, his 20 total bases were tied with Braun for second-most among NL hitter. McCutchen added five RBI and five runs scored to his weekly totals. The 28-year-old slugger clubbed a home run and had two RBI on Sunday, helping the Bucs complete a three-game sweep of the New York Mets with a 9-1 victory at PNC Park. In Saturday's matchup between the clubs, McCutchen's first-inning homer gave the Pirates a two-run lead in an eventual 8-2 victory. The blast was his 62nd career home run at PNC Park, passing Jason Bay (61) for the ballpark's all-time lead. This is McCutchen's fifth career weekly honor, having won most recently July 7-13, 2014.

Other noteworthy performances last week included McCutchen's Pittsburgh teammate Josh Harrison (.455, 10 H, 4 RBI, .435 OBP); Chicago's Chris Coghlan (.294, 3 HR, 4 RBI, .882 SLG); Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (.385, 5 R, 10 H, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .846 SLG) and Cole Hamels (2-0, 1.17 ERA, 12 SO, 15.1 IP); Arizona's A.J. Pollock (.400, 8 R, 12 H, 4 SB, .419 OBP); Washington's Drew Storen (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 SV, 7 SO, 4.0 IP); and Michael Wacha (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 9 SO, 14.0 IP) of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In recognition of their National League Co-Player of the Week Awards, Ryan Braun and Andrew McCutchen will each be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.