Brandon Belt named NL Player of the Week presented by W.B. Mason
San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by W.B. Mason for the period ending May 20th.
San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by W.B. Mason for the period ending May 20th.
Belt posted a slash line of .444/.500/1.074 with eight runs scored, 12 hits, two doubles, five home runs and 11 RBI over seven games played to claim his second career Player of the Week Award, previously winning for the period ending August 11, 2013. Among his NL counterparts, Brandon finished the week first in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits (7), runs scored, slugging percentage and total bases (29); third in batting average; and tied for fourth in on-base percentage. This is San Francisco's first Player of the Week Award this season, and the first since Brandon's teammate Jeff Samardzija on September 3, 2017.
On Thursday against the Colorado Rockies at AT&T Park, Belt logged his second consecutive multi-hit game, including his fourth home run in as many games. The 2016 NL All-Star recorded a four-game home run streak for the second time this season, previously accomplishing the feat from April 18th-22nd. In addition, the Texas native is the first Giants first baseman to club a homer in four straight contests since Pedro Feliz (May 6-12, 2004), and the seventh Giants first baseman overall. In Brandon's final game of the week on Sunday afternoon against the Rockies, the 30-year-old went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and three RBI. The three-run blast in the seventh inning proved to be the game winner, as the Giants won 9-5 en route to their fifth win over their previous eight games. The clutch homer was his 11th round-tripper on the season and his fifth over a seven-game stretch. Over the course of his award-winning week, the Giants' fifth round selection in the 2008 MLB Draft logged five multi-hit games and improved his 2018 slash line to .313/.413/.594. Entering play today, the left-handed-hitting slugger paces the Giants in runs scored (28), hits (50), extra-base hits (22), home runs (11) and RBI (29), and is tied for third on the Club with 10 doubles.
Belt's teammate, 2015 All-Star Brandon Crawford (.520, 13 H, 4 2B, 6 RBI), also posted a strong week for the Giants. The 31-year-old enters play today in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak dating back to May 13th. Crawford, a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, has tallied a hit in all but two of 19 games this month. The UCLA product has slashed .444/.462/.639 with 11 runs scored, 32 hits, eight doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI since the calendar flipped to May. Other noteworthy performances last week included infielder Matt Carpenter (.417, 10 H, 6 2B), starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (1-0, 1.35 ERA, 13.1 IP, 16 SO) and first baseman José Martínez (.417, 5 R, 3 XBH, 8 RBI) of the St. Louis Cardinals; outfielder Ian Happ (.400, 6 R, 5 XBH, 1.067 SLG) of the Chicago Cubs; first baseman Jesús Aguilar (.333, 6 R, 4 HR, 6 RBI) of the Milwaukee Brewers; and All-Star starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 14 SO) of the New York Mets.
In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Brandon Belt will be awarded a watch courtesy of Rockwell.