Players of the Week: Gallen, Bogaerts
Zac Gallen and Xander Bogaerts are doing everything they can to make their teams' seasons end on a high note. For their efforts, they were named the Players of the Week presented by Chevrolet on Tuesday.
Gallen, who was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for August, took the bump twice last week, when he turned in two gems. After opening his week by tossing seven scoreless innings against the Phillies on Tuesday, he matched that performance with seven scoreless frames in a win over the Brewers on Sunday. Gallen allowed two hits, one walk and recorded seven strikeouts in each start.
Gallen hasn't allowed a run in 41 1/3 consecutive innings, the eighth-longest streak in the Live Ball Era (since 1920).
On the year, Gallen is 11-6 with a 2.42 ERA across 152 2/3 innings. He’s gone at least seven innings in five of his last six starts. This is his first Player of the Week Award, and he becomes the second D-back to take the honor this year, joining rotation-mate Merrill Kelly.
After being mired in a slump at the start of August, Bogaerts broke out in a big way last week, as he went 15-for-31 (.536) in seven games. Bogaerts recorded two hits in the first six games of the week before finishing with a three-hit, two-RBI effort against the Rangers on Sunday; he’s now recorded multiple hits in nine consecutive games. His best game of the week came on Wednesday, when he launched a grand slam as part of a five-RBI performance in a win over the Twins.
On the year, Bogaerts has an American League-leading .317 batting average with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs. This is the second time he’s been named Player of the Week, with his previous win coming in July 2018. He’s the second Red Sox to be named Player of the Week this year, joining Trevor Story, who won the award in May.