Tribe Duo Recognized with Some Well-Deserved Hardware

The Indians added some significant hardware to the mantel over the weekend with some big performances from two key parts of their lineup, despite mixed results in the win column over the last week of play.

The American League announced on Monday that designated hitter/first baseman Edwin Encarnacion had been named the league’s Player of the Week for games played between May 28 and June 3.

The 35-year-old appeared in all seven games for the Tribe last week, putting up a .407/.448/1.037 line at the plate with eleven hits in 29 plate appearances. He had seven extra base hits during the week, including a pair of doubles and five home runs, with two during the series finale loss against Minnesota on Sunday. He scored nine times during the week and drove in 13 runs.

The big week from Encarnacion gave a good boost to his numbers for the season while extending his hitting streak to ten straight games, his longest streak since last May 21-June 2, when he hit in eleven straight (it remains far short of his longest career streak of 26 games from July 26 to August 31, 2015). He had four two-hit games and two four-RBI games, going 5-for-11 in three games against Chicago and 6-for-16 against Minnesota.

It marked the first time that Encarnacion had been named the league’s Player of the Week since August 30, 2015, while he was still with the Toronto Blue Jays. It was his sixth weekly award to go with a pair of Player of the Month honors.

On the National League side, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was named the senior circuit’s Player of the Week after slashing .429/.458/.952 with hits in all seven games that he played while hitting two doubles and three homers and driving in eight. It was his first Player of the Week award since August 2014.

Encarnacion & Lindor – Ron Schwane/Getty Images

Encarnacion’s award came on the heels of another big accomplishment for the Indians roster. On Saturday, Francisco Lindor was named the American League’s Player of the Month for his efforts in May.

The two-time All-Star shortstop continued an impressive season at the plate with hot hitting throughout the month. The 24-year-old first rounder in 2011 made up for a .245/.331/.409 March/April with an offensive outburst that was one of the best in baseball. He put up a .373/.432/.737 slash in 27 games in May with a 1.169 OPS and 44 hits, including 13 doubles and 10 home runs. He scored 27 times and added 23 RBI during the Indians’ most productive offensive month in eleven years. Twice in the month he had four-hit games and he finished second to Jean Segura in batting average for May. He was named the league’s Player of the Week in consecutive weeks on May 6 and May 13 and kept up his performance throughout the rest of the month.

It was the first Player of the Month award of Lindor’s career (he won the Rookie of the Month award in September of 2015). He became the first Indians player to be named a Player of the Month since Jason Kipnis won the award in May of 2015. Corey Kluber won the Pitcher’s award three times last year, including in the season’s final month.

Cincinnati’s Scooter Gennett, who was named a National League Player of the Week when Lindor won his second of two Player of the Week Awards in May, was announced as the NL’s Player of the Month. The 28-year-old appeared in 26 games, slashing .398/.418/.720 for the month with six doubles, eight homers, 24 RBI, and 16 runs scored. It was his first Player of the Month award of his career.

The Indians will get back to action on Tuesday night in a brief two-game home series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Photo: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Related Posts

Deals Left at the Table Leave Tribe Fans Wondering What Might Have Been

The Indians’ quick playoff exit has led to a lot of 20-20 hindsight, deals that in retrospect could have been made and should have been made. And…

Tribe Bullpen Has a Good Hand, With Questions on Other Arms

After several years of boasting one of the game’s best bullpens, including the 2016 version that nearly carried the club to a World Series championship, the Cleveland…

Seventy Years Later, Tribe Still Stands Without a Championship

Last Friday marked the anniversary of the last time a championship parade rolled through the streets of Cleveland in honor of the city’s Indians. A week and…

Indians Outfield Has Many Questions, Few Answers

During the six-year tenure of manager Terry Francona, the Cleveland Indians outfield has been a work in progress, piecemealed together and full of platoons for much of…

Indians Starting Slow in Arizona Fall League Play

The postseason hangover in Cleveland has extended all the way to Arizona for the Indians organization, as the team’s participants on the shared roster of the Glendale…

So Where Do We Go From Here?

So this is how it ends, like T.S. Eliot, not with a bang, but with a whimper. When the Cubs beat the Indians in the wee small…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.