On the heels of his no-hitter, left-handed starting pitcher Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros has been selected the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman has been named the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.
Valdez earned his first career selection and is the second Astros player to take home weekly honors this season, joining outfielder Chas McCormick who won on July 17th. He is the first Houston pitcher to win the award since Gerrit Cole on September 30, 2019. Freeman earned his ninth career honor and his first since winning the award on September 12, 2022. He is the second Dodgers player to win the award this season, joining infielder Max Muncy, who took home weekly honors on April 24th.
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros (framber_valdez_pinales\)
- The 29-year-old tossed the 16th no-hitter in Astros franchise history on Tuesday, tossing 9.0 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. It was the 12th no-hitter in franchise history by a single pitcher and first since his former and current teammate Justin Verlander on September 1, 2019.
- The Dominican Republic native took a perfect game bid into the fifth inning before issuing a leadoff walk to allow his first baserunner of the game.
- The two-time All-Star became the first Astros southpaw to toss a no-hitter and his 93 pitches (with 65 strikes) were the third-lowest total in a no-hitter since pitch tracking began in 1988, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
- Houston has thrown five no-hitters since 2019, including a combined effort in the 2022 World Series, marking the most ever by any team over a five-year span in MLB history, per the Astros.
- There have been three no-hitters tossed this season, including Domingo Germán’s perfect game for the New York Yankees on June 28th and a combined no-hitter by Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange of the Detroit Tigers on July 8th.
Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers (freddiefreeman)
- The 33-year-old hit .500 (13-for-26) with two home runs, seven RBI, five doubles, eight runs, three stolen bases, a .923 slugging percentage and a .563 on-base percentage in six games played last week.
- The California native led the NL in hits (13) and doubles; was tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (7) and total bases (24); and ranked second in batting average; ranked third in OBP, slugging and OPS (1.459); and was tied for fourth in runs and stolen bases.
- The seven-time All-Star started his week with a four-hit performance on Monday, followed by three-hit games on Tuesday and Wednesday against Oakland. Over the three-game series, he tallied one home run, three RBI, five doubles and five runs.
- The 2020 National League MVP extended his current on-base streak to seven games with a three-run homer on Sunday night at San Diego. Overall, he has reached base safely in 34 of his last 35 contests, boasting a .453 on-base percentage over the stretch with nine homers, 33 RBI, 15 doubles, 15 walks, 37 runs and a 1.144 OPS.
Other noteworthy AL performances for the week included first baseman/designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle (.560, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 4 BB, 5 R, .720 SLG, .581 OBP) and starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (2-0, 2.77 ERA, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 14 SO), who earned his 100th career win on Saturday, of the Baltimore Orioles; outfielder Adolis García (.421, 4 HR, 5 RBI, 1 2B, 5 BB, 9 R, 1.105 SLG, .542 OBP), starting pitcher Andrew Heaney (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 11.2 IP, 15 SO) and infielder Marcus Semien (.409, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 9 R, .909 SLG, .500 OBP) of the Texas Rangers; infielder Gleyber Torres (.462, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 7 R, 1 SB, .808 SLG, .533 OBP) of the Yankees; catcher Ryan Jeffers (.429, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 4 R, 1.214 SLG) of the Minnesota Twins; infielder Bobby Witt Jr. (.381, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 4 R, .714 SLG) of the Kansas City Royals; infielder/designated hitter Brandon Belt (.381, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, .810 SLG, .519 OBP) of the Toronto Blue Jays; outfielder Julio Rodríguez (.345, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 5 R) of the Seattle Mariners; and Valdez’s rotation-mate J.P. France (1-0, 1.74 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 10.1 IP, 10 SO) of the Astros.
Other noteworthy NL performances last week included infielder Jeimer Candelario (.571, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 2B, 4 BB, 8 R, 1 SB, .905 SLG, .640 OBP), who was traded last Monday from the Washington Nationals to the Chicago Cubs; first baseman Matt Olson (.368, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1 2B, 7 BB, 5 R, 1.053 SLG, .519 OBP), outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (.478, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 4 BB, 6 R, 2 SB, .783 SLG, .571 OBP) and starting pitcher Max Fried (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 8 SO) of the Atlanta Braves; shortstop Dansby Swanson (.280, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .960 SLG) and outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger (.444, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 9 R, 5 SB, .500 OBP) of the Cubs; Freeman’s teammates outfielder Mookie Betts (.400, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 10 R, .880 SLG) and starting pitcher Lance Lynn (2-0, 2.77 ERA, 13.0 IP, 13 SO), who struck out seven in 7.0 innings in his Dodgers debut, of the Dodgers; outfielder Lane Thomas of the Nationals (.360 3 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 7 R; 2 SB, .800 SLG); infielder Ha-Seong Kim (.391, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 2B, 6 BB, 4 R, 3 SB, .517 OBP) and outfielder Juan Soto (.385, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 6 R) of the San Diego Padres; infielder Ryan McMahon (.318, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB, 6 R, .818 SLG) and starting pitcher Austin Gomber (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 2 GS, 12.0 IP, 7 SO) of the Colorado Rockies; and starting pitcher Johan Oviedo (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 11 SO) of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet
Diving Catch in the Alley by Austin Hays of the Baltimore Orioles
July 31st at Rogers Centre – Watch It Here
Baltimore Orioles All-Star outfielder Austin Hays earned his second career Play of the Week Award and the first by the Orioles this season. This marks the eighth Play of the Week Award overall for the Orioles since the award was introduced in 2019 and fourth honor of 2023 (also Cedric Mullins on May 8th and July 10th, Gunnar Henderson on July 24th). The Orioles eight honors since 2019 are tied for the most in Baseball with the Toronto Blue Jays. In the bottom of the ninth inning on Monday, Whit Merrifield hit a ball to the outfield gap with the tying run on first base, giving way for Hays to make a fantastic full-extension catch for the second out of the inning. Additional Play of the Week candidates included Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia’s combined diving play up the middle; Brenton Doyle’s diving catch to take away extra-bases; Matt Chapman’s diving stop at third and throw to first; James Outman’s home run robbery, and J.P. Crawford’s game-ending catch.