Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers named National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet; Adam Duvall of the Boston Red Sox named American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas claims Play of the Week with epic diving catch

August 28th, 2023

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder/infielder Mookie Betts has been selected the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and outfielder Adam Duvall of the Boston Red Sox has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet.  The announcements were made earlier today on MLB Network.

Betts earned his fifth career selection and second in the National League, last winning weekly honors on August 29th of last season. He is the third Dodgers player to win the award this season, joining infielder Max Muncy, who took home weekly honors on April 24th, and Freddie Freeman, who won on August 7th. Duvall won his second career award, also winning weekly honors earlier this season on April 3rd. Joined by Masataka Yoshida’s honors on May 8th, the Red Sox have taken home three weekly awards in 2023 and their 142 honors since the award’s inception in 1974 are the most of any Major League club.

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (@mookiebetts)

  • The 30-year-old hit .615 (16-for-26) with one home run, seven RBI, four doubles, three walks, nine runs, two stolen bases, a .655 on-base percentage, an .885 slugging percentage and a 1.540 OPS in six games last week.
  • The Tennessee native led NL hitters in batting average, on-base percentage and hits (16); tied for first in runs; ranked third in total bases (23); tied for fourth in doubles and extra-base hits (5), ranked fifth in slugging and OPS; and tied for sixth in RBI.
  • The 2018 AL MVP tallied his second career five-hit game on Wednesday at Cleveland, driving home two runs on a double in the eighth inning. Betts’ first career five-hit game was on August 26, 2016 against the Kansas City Royals while on the Red Sox.
  • The seven-time All-Star tallied multiple hits in five of his six contests, reaching base at least twice in all six games and reaching at least three times in five games. He scored a run in all six games and has now scored in seven straight contests.
  • Overall, Betts has hit safely in each of his last 15 games since August 10th, batting .542 (32-for-59) with four homers, 16 RBI, six doubles, six walks, 17 runs, and an .847 on-base percentage. The current streak is tied for the second-longest hitting streak of his career and is three games short of his career-high 18-game streak from August 24-September 13, 2015.

Adam Duvall, Boston Red Sox (@aduvall1234)

  • The 34-year-old hit .483 (14-for-29) with five home runs, 12 RBI, five doubles, two walks, seven runs, a .516 on-base percentage, a 1.172 slugging percentage and a 1.688 OPS in seven games last week.
  • The Kentucky native led AL hitters in batting average, home runs, RBI, slugging, OPS, hits (14), doubles, extra-base hits (10) and total bases (34); and tied for sixth in runs.
  • The All-Star outfielder had six multi-hit games last week and hit a home run in three straight games from Monday through Wednesday, driving home eight runs in the four-game series against the Houston Astros. He reached base 11 times in his 19 plate appearances during the four-game set.
  • The 2021 World Series Champion hit a go-ahead three-run home run on Saturday against the Dodgers, helping the Red Sox to an 8-5 victory at Fenway Park. Duvall extended his hitting streak to seven games on Sunday, which is now tied for the third-longest hitting streak of his career behind an eight-game stretch in 2016 and his career-high 16-game streak in 2021.

Other noteworthy NL performances for the week included designated hitter/first baseman Bryce Harper (.522, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB, 6 R, .593 OBP, 1.043 SLG) and starting pitcher Aaron Nola (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 14 SO) of the Philadelphia Phillies; designated hitter/outfielder Marcell Ozuna (.524, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 9 R, .583 OBP, 1.333 SLG) of the Atlanta Braves; outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger (.290, 11 RBI, 3 2B, 1 BB, 5 R), outfielder Seiya Suzuki (.444, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 BB, 8 R, .516 OBP, .815 SLG) and relief pitcher Adbert Alzolay (0.00 ERA, 3 G, 3 SV, 2.1 IP, 3 SO) of the Chicago Cubs; Betts’ infield teammate Freddie Freeman (.500, 3 RBI, 5 2B, 2 BB, 6 R, .536 OBP) of the Dodgers; and rookie outfielder Corbin Carroll (.500, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 2B, 2 3B, 5 BB, 8 R, .591 SLG, 1.000 SLG) of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Other noteworthy AL performances last week included outfielder Teoscar Hernández (.407, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 6 R, .889 SLG), catcher Cal Raleigh (.409, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 3 BB, 6 R, .909 SLG) and starting pitcher Luis Castillo (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 15 SO) of the Seattle Mariners; infielder Alex Bregman (.429, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 2B, 7 BB, 8 R, .679 SLG), infielder Jeremy Peña (.423, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 BB, 4 R, .516 OBP, .615 SLG) and starting pitcher Justin Verlander (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 16 SO) of the Houston Astros; Duvall’s outfield teammate Alex Verdugo (.382, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 6 R, .706 SLG), who set a Red Sox record with three straight leadoff home runs from Thursday through Saturday; and third baseman Yoán Moncada (.435, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 2 R, .696 SLG) of the Chicago White Sox.

ELECTRIC PLAY OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY CHEVROLET
Diving Catch on the Warning Track by Alek Thomas of the Arizona Diamondbacks
August 22nd at Chase Field – Watch It Here

Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas earned his second career Play of the Week Award and his first this season. This marks the third Play of the Week Award overall for the Diamondbacks since the award was introduced in 2019, with Thomas taking home the award on June 13th last year and Josh Rojas winning Play of the Week on May 3, 2021. In the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday, Marcus Semien lined a shot to the right-center gap, forcing Thomas to cover 98 feet of ground to make a diving catch on the warning track and take away extra bases. Additional Play of the Week candidates included the San Francisco Giants flashy double play; Garrett Whitlock's sliding catch; Luis Arraez’s diving stop and throw to the plate to save a run; Brenton Doyle’s diving snag in the alley; and Luis Robert Jr.’s home run robbery.