Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder A.J. Pollock has been voted the Budweiser Presents National League Player of the Month for April. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
 
Pollock batted .291 (30-for-103) with 20 runs scored, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 9 home runs, 24 RBI and 6 stolen bases over 27 games to claim his first career Player of the Month Award, and the second consecutive monthly honor for the D-backs, following J.D. Martinez last September. Among his qualified NL counterparts, A.J. finished the month tied for first in home runs; second in extra-base hits (19) and slugging percentage (.670); third in RBI and stolen bases; tied for third in triples; and tied for seventh in doubles.
 
Pollock finished his award-winning month of April with his first career 3-home run game at Chase Field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 30th. The Notre Dame product became the 12th player in Club history to accomplish the feat, and the first since the aforementioned Martinez on September 4th of last season during his award-winning month. Following his prolific output, A.J.'s 9 round-trippers in April matched Steve Finley (2000), Richie Sexson (2004) and Kelly Johnson (2010) for the second-most in team history, trailing just Luis Gonzalez (13 HR, 2001). Moreover, Arizona's first round selection in the 2009 (17th overall) MLB Draft became the first player in D-backs history to post at least 9 homers and 6 stolen bases in March/April. Led by their All-Star outfielder, Arizona entered May with 20 victories on the season and matched the 2014 Milwaukee Brewers and the 2008 D-backs for the most wins by an NL Club in March/April in MLB history. This year's Boston Red Sox and the 2003 New York Yankees each recorded 21 wins following the month of April. In addition, for the first time in franchise history, Arizona went the entire month of April without losing back-to-back games. Entering play today, Arizona paces the NL West by 6.0 games with a 21-8 record.
 
Second baseman Ozzie Albies (29 R, 12 2B, 9 HR, 20 RBI) was also outstanding for the Atlanta Braves as the 2018 season got underway. The 21-year-old established a new franchise record for the most extra-base hits (22) by the end of April, eclipsing the previous mark of 19 set by Dale Murphy, Hall of Fame electee Chipper Jones and Justin Upton. Led by their dynamic second baseman, the Braves finished the month of April pacing the NL in runs scored (151), hits (260), doubles (66), batting average (.268), on-base percentage (.342) and slugging percentage (.440), and entered May with a winning record for the first time since 2014. Others receiving votes for NL Player of the Month included NL Rookie of the Month Christian Villanueva (.321, 15 R, 8 HR, 19 RBI) of the San Diego Padres; infielder Javier Báez (.280, 20 R, 18 XBH, 26 RBI) of the Chicago Cubs; two-time All-Star Asdrúbal Cabrera (.340, 20 R, 14 XBH, 17 RBI) of the New York Mets; outfielders Odúbel Herrera (.343, 16 R, 9 XBH, 13 RBI) and Rhys Hoskins (.303, 16 R, 12 XBH, 19 RBI) of the Philadelphia Phillies; All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman (.314, 19 R, 11 2B, 19 RBI) of the Braves; and five-time All-Star Bryce Harper (23 R, 8 HR, 19 RBI, .458 OBP) of the Washington Nationals.