Jason Castro, Domonic Brown MLB Players of the Week

Press Release Major League Baseball

Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 26th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Castro batted .579 (11-for-19) with one double, three home runs, five RBI and five runs scored in six games to claim his first career weekly honor. He is the first Astro to win a Player of the Week Award since Hunter Pence for the period ending September 5, 2010. The left-handed-hitting backstop led the Majors in batting average, slugging percentage (1.105) and on-base percentage (.636), was tied for fourth in homers and was tied for fifth overall in total bases (21).

On Monday against the Kansas City Royals, the 25-year-old launched his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot in the third inning as the Astros went on to defeat the Royals, 6-5, at Minute Maid Park. After drawing a walk in a pinch-hitting appearance in a loss to Kansas City on Tuesday, Castro and the Astros bounced back in the rubber match between the two Clubs on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory. The California native shined on the offensive and defensive sides, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored at the plate, while throwing out a pair of base runners in the latter half of the contest to help seal the win for Houston. On Saturday, the Stanford University product combined with teammate Matt Dominguez to launch a pair of homers each, but their efforts were not enough as the host Astros fell to the Oakland Athletics, 11-5. Castro went 3-for-4 in the outing as he and Dominguez became the first Astros duo to collect multiple homers in the same game since Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio on July 25, 2005 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Castro’s pair of blasts gives him six homers on the season, equaling his 2012 total and tying a career high. Houston’s first round pick (10th overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft continued to swing a hot bat in Sunday’s matchup with Oakland, collecting a career-high four hits and scoring a run as Houston fell to the visiting A’s, 6-2. Castro, in his third Major League season, became the first Astros player with at least three hits in three straight games since Ty Wigginton on August 15-17, 2008.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (.364, 3 HR, 10 RBI) and starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez (one-hit shutout with 12 SO vs. Minnesota on May 24th); Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista (.500, 14 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI); Baltimore Orioles first baseman Chris Davis (.480, 12 H, 4 HR, 6 RBI, 1.080 SLG); Seattle Mariners designated hitter Kendrys Morales (.481, 13 H, 6 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI); and Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jake Peavy (1-0, 1.00 ERA, 1 CG).

Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Domonic Brown has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending May 26th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Brown batted .348 (8-for-23) with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBI and four runs scored in six games to claim his first career Player of the Week Award. Domonic is the first Phillies position player to get tabbed with a weekly honor since Raul Ibañez for the period ending July 10, 2011. Pitcher Cole Hamels won for August 13-19, 2012. For the week, Brown finished first in the N.L. with a .783 slugging percentage, was tied for first in RBI and was second in the Senior Circuit with 18 total bases.

On Monday in Miami, the 25-year-old launched a second-inning solo home run as part of a two-hit night with a stolen base, but the lone run was not enough against four Marlins pitchers as Philadelphia fell to Miami, 5-1, at Marlins Park. The homer was Brown’s eighth of the season and his third against Miami. On Tuesday, the Florida native doubled and drove in a pair of runs to help Philadelphia bounce back with a 7-3 decision over the Marlins. Brown’s RBI-double was among a season-high-tying 15 hits by the Phillies in the victory. In the series finale on Wednesday, Philadelphia’s 20th round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft roped an RBI-triple and later scored in the sixth inning to help back starting pitcher Cliff Lee’s dominant start as the Phillies left-hander went on to shut out the Marlins, 3-0, at Marlins Park. Brown’s three-bagger was his first of the season. In the middle game of a three-game set against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, the fourth-year veteran doubled, homered and drove in two runs to lead the Phillies to a 5-3 win at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Brown was on the front end of back-to-back homers with Erik Kratz in the second inning to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead, and later provided Philly with an insurance run in the eighth frame with an RBI-double to push the game to the decisive 5-3 score. The run-scoring double gave Brown a five-game RBI streak (from May 20th-25th), tying the team season-high with Ryan Howard (April 24th-28th). On the season, Brown leads Philadelphia with 10 homers and 29 RBI, and is second on the club in at-bats (179), runs scored (20) and hits (46).

Other noteworthy performances last week included San Diego Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera (.318, 2 HR, 5 RBI); Atlanta Braves rookie catcher Evan Gattis (first career grand slam vs. Minnesota on May 22nd); Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (.296, 3 HR, 5 RBI); Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto (.381, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 8 R) and closer Aroldis Chapman (4 G, 4 SV, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 SO); and Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Patrick Corbin (2-0, 2.40 ERA, 1 CG, 15.0 IP, 15 SO).