Edwin Encarnacion of the Toronto Blue Jays named the Budweiser presents American League Player of the Month for August

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman/designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion has been voted the Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month for August. Budweiser, the official beer sponsor of Major League Baseball and sponsor of 23 of 30 clubs, is also the presenting sponsor of the National League Player of the Month Award.

Encarnacion batted .407 (35-for-86) with 23 runs scored, 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 35 RBI to claim his second career AL Player of the Month Award, last winning with the Blue Jays in May 2014. Among his AL counterparts, the 32-year-old finished first in batting average, slugging percentage (.907) and extra-base hits (21), tied for first in doubles and RBI, second in on-base percentage (.460), tied for second in home runs and tied for fourth in runs scored.

Recording a hit in each game he played during August, Encarnacion held a 26-game hitting streak from July 26 - August 31, tied for the second-longest streak in Blue Jays history with Shannon Stewart (1999). He is the first AL player with a hitting streak longer than 25 games since Ichrio Suzuki logged a streak of 27 games from May 6 - June 3, 2009. Reaching the 30-home run plateau on August 30 against the Detroit Tigers at the Rogers Centre, the two-time AL All-Star became the second player in Toronto history to record that many home runs and a hitting streak that long in the same year. Shawn Green accomplished the feat in 1999 after hitting 42 home runs and registering Toronto's club-record 28-game hitting streak. During his torrid streak, the most recent AL Player of the Week recorded 22 extra-base hits. No Major League player has had that many extra-base hits during a hit streak of any length since Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies had 25 extra-base hits during his 35-game streak in 2006. Moreover, the Dominican Republic native recorded 35 RBI in August, breaking the Blue Jays record he shared with Carlos Delgado, who had 32 in June 2003. Spanning seven games from August 22nd - 29th, the 32-year-old slugger recorded 23 RBI, becoming just the second player in MLB history to ever do so. Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees also posted 23 RBI over seven contests in 1939. His 35-RBI month is the most in a single month since Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies logged 40 RBI in September/October 2010. Since 2000, only Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (41 in 2006) and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs (36 in 2001) have had more RBI in August. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Josh Donaldson, who also belted 11 home runs and 35 RBI this month, and Encarnacion became the first pair of teammates to hit at least 10 home runs and 35 RBI in a single month since Babe Ruth (10 homers and 41 RBI) and Lou Gehrig (11 homers and 41 RBI) in July 1931.

Others receiving votes included Jose Altuve (.375, 13 R, 45 H, 8 SB) of the Houston Astros; and the aforementioned Donaldson (.324, 29R, 11 HR, 35 RBI).

The Budweiser Presents American League Player of the Month, Edwin Encarnacion, will receive a specially designed trophy, suitably engraved, for his accomplishment.