Brett Gardner of the New York Yankees named the American League Player of the Week
New York Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending June 9th. The announcement was made earlier today on the MLB Network. Gardner batted .520 (13-for-25) with five doubles, one home run, six RBI and five runs scored in seven games to lead the Yankees to a 6-1 record and lay claim to his first career weekly honor. Among Major League leaders for the period, Brett was tied for first in doubles, was second in batting average and was third in on-base percentage (.556). In the Junior Circuit, he was tied for first in base hits, was second in total bases (21) and was tied for sixth in RBI.
On Monday against the Cleveland Indians, the 29-year-old broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning to help lead the Yanks to a series-opening 7-4 victory over the Tribe at Yankee Stadium. Gardner's effort backed starting pitcher CC Sabathia, who struck out nine against his former club in his first complete game of the season. Two days later, the North Carolina native launched a three-run homer, his sixth blast of the season, with a sacrifice fly as the Bronx Bombers defeated the Indians, 6-4, to finish off a threegame sweep. Gardner's three RBI were a season high for the speedster, and it marked the second time this season (and in his career)that he homered and had a sacrifice fly in the same game. Brett is the only Major Leaguer with more than one such game in 2013.
On June 8th in Seattle, the College of Charleston product went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run scored in a 3-1 win over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Gardner combined with Jason Nix (2-for-4, 2 RBI) to provide the Yankees with a much-needed insurance run in the seventh inning as the Yankees' third-round pick in the 2005 Draft roped a one-out double before coming around to score on a Nix single to give New York its third and final run of the game. In the series finale with the Mariners on Sunday, the sixthyear veteran tied a season best with four hits, including a double, a run-scoring single and a stolen base as the Yankees edged Seattle, 2-1. Gardner is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, and has hit safely in 15 of his past 17 games since May 24th, batting .365 (23-for-63) with six doubles, a triple, three homers, 11 RBI, 11 runs scored and five walks during the span.
Other noteworthy performances included Gardner's Yankee teammates Sabathia (1-0, 1 CG, 9 SO) and Mariano Rivera (4 G, 4 SV, 6 SO); Mike Carp (.500, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 1.125 SLG), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.412, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 1.059 SLG) and David Ortiz (5 extrabase hits, 12 RBI) of the Boston Red Sox; and Yoenis Cespedes (.345, 4 HR, 6 RBI) of the Oakland Athletics.
In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Brett Gardner will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.