Kepler, Mauer share AL Player of the Week honor
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Max Kepler and Joe Mauer have been named co-American League Players of the Week after leading the Twins to a 5-2 record last week.
Kepler, a rookie outfielder, began the week with a three-homer, six-RBI performance against the Indians on Aug. 1. He hit .370/.471/.815 with four home runs and 11 RBIs overall to earn his first career weekly honor.
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"I'm not a home run hitter, so it's rare," Kepler said. "I'm just trying to hit singles. I'm just trying to put the ball in play and hit it hard. I'm thankful for the backspin I was blessed with."
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Mauer recorded five multihit games, including two four-hit efforts, en route to a .560/.633/1.000 line for the week. The veteran first baseman also hit one home run, one triple and drove in nine runs.
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This is Mauer's fourth career weekly honor and second of the season, with the other coming for the week of May 29.
"I don't spend a lot of time day to day, week to week, thinking about who's going to win those awards, but when it's your guys, it's always good news," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "After hearing about it, you reflect on what those guys did last week, particularly in Cleveland. Joe had an incredible series. Max had the three-homer night and was piling up the RBIs. It's justice that they would share it. Congratulations to those guys. They deserve it."