Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending August 20th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
Rizzo posted a slash line of .429/.484/.750 with five runs scored, 12 hits, three doubles, two home runs, 13 RBI and a stolen base over seven games played to claim his second career NL Player of the Week Award, last winning on July 21, 2014. Among NL leaders, Anthony finished the period first in RBI; second in hits and total bases (21); tied for second in extra-base hits (5); tied for fourth in doubles; tied for fifth in batting average; and sixth in slugging percentage. This is Chicago's second Player of the Week Award this season, following Willson Contreras, who took home NL weekly honors for the period ending August 6th.
In Chicago's first game of the week on Monday against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field, Rizzo went 3-for-5 with a home run and a season-high five RBI to help propel the Cubs to a 15-5 win over the Reds. Joined by two-time All-Star Kris Bryant, the 'Bryzzo' duo posted back-to-back home runs for the first time this season, and fifth time in their careers. On Wednesday night, Rizzo, who became the third left-handed-hitting in Cubs history to post four 25-homer campaigns earlier this month (also: Hall of Famer Billy Williams and Bill Nicholson), clubbed a grand slam as the Cubs' fourth batter of the game. This marked just the third time in franchise history in which Chicago's cleanup batter hit a grand slam in the first inning with no outs, joining Hank Lieber (September 12, 1939 vs. Boston) and Bob O'Farrell (June 14, 1923 vs. Brooklyn). The bases-clearing round-tripper, which helped lead the Cubs to a 7-6 victory, was the third grand slam of his career and first since September 4, 2015. In the final contest of the series against Cincinnati on Thursday, the three-time All-Star notched his eighth three-hit game of the season, including a pair of doubles and runs scored. During the four-game series against the Reds, the Florida native tallied nine hits, three doubles, a pair of homers and 10 RBI. Moreover, last year's NL Gold Glove Award winner at first base enters play today with a career-best 102-game errorless streak, dating back to April 25th. The impressive stretch in the field is the longest errorless streak by a Cubs first baseman since Mark Grace also posted a streak of 102 games during his Gold Glove Award-winning 1992 season.
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Keon Broxton (.467, 7 R, 4 HR, 6 RBI) also posted a strong week. The 27-year-old clubbed four home runs over a three-game stretch from Tuesday-Friday, culminating with his 20th round-tripper on the season. Just back from the Minors, Broxton enters play today with career bests in runs scored (60), hits (80), doubles (14), triples (4), home runs (20) and RBI (47). Other noteworthy performances last week included rookie outfielder/first baseman Rhys Hoskins (.320, 8 R, 5 HR, 8 RBI) of the Philadelphia Phillies; starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 12.2 IP, 12 SO) of the Washington Nationals; and outfielder Starling Marte (.520, 8 R, 13 H, 4 SB) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Anthony Rizzo will be awarded a watch courtesy of Rockwell.