ARLINGTON -- Mariners southpaw James Paxton closed out an overpowering July with two dominant wins, leading to him earning co-Player of the Week honors in the American League on Monday.
Paxton shared the honor with Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, who reached 3,000 career hits on Sunday.
"It's quite an honor to split it with a guy as talented as that, especially with him getting his 3,000th hit," Paxton said. "And he had amazing numbers last week. He's an amazing player, and it's an honor to share it with him."
Paxton threw 13 scoreless innings in a pair of wins over the Red Sox and Mets at Safeco Field, allowing just 10 hits with 18 strikeouts and no walks as he hiked his record to 11-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 18 starts on the season.
The two victories capped a July during which the 28-year-old went 6-0 with a 1.37 ERA and became the first Seattle pitcher to win six games in any month.
"He really has led us charging up the mountain," manager Scott Servais said, as the Mariners attempt to hang in the AL Wild Card race at 53-53, 3 1/2 games behind the Royals for the second spot.
Paxton started his week with seven shutout innings and a season-high 10 strikeouts while allowing four hits in a 4-0 victory over Boston on Monday. He wrapped it up with six more scoreless frames on six hits with eight strikeouts in a 9-1 win over the Mets on Sunday.
It's the second AL Player of the Week honor for Paxton, who also earned the award on April 17 after a pair of wins with 15 scoreless innings and 17 strikeouts against the Astros and Rangers.
He's the first Mariners pitcher to win two Player of the Week honors in the same season and the first Mariners player to do so since third baseman Kyle Seager in 2014.
"Well deserved," Servais said. "He's been awesome for us. It's great to see him take the next step as an upper-echelon guy. We've seen it in glimpses. He's in a good stretch run right now and hopefully it continues the next couple months. We're going to need him."