Blue Jays' right-hander Francis named AL Player of the Week
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis has been named American League Player of the Week. Photo: Toronto Blue Jays
August 19, 2024
Official Major League Baseball News Release
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Bowden Francis has been named the American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet, and Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has been selected the National League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet.
The announcements were made on Monday on MLB Network.
Francis earned his first career Player of the Week Award and is the fourth pitcher to win the award this season, following San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (August 5), San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease (July 29) and Houston Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco (April 6), who all won following their respective no-hitters. Following a pair of wins from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on July 1 and August 5, Toronto has now won three weekly awards this season.
Turner claimed his fourth career honour and second of the season after previously winning earlier this year on April 22. He also won last year on September 5 and earned his first career award on October 4, 2021 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner is the first Phillies player to win since Alec Bohm on April 29, as Philadelphia claimed back-to-back awards to close out April.
Bowden Francis, Toronto Blue Jays (@bowdenfrancis33)
-The 28-year-old went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA (1 ER/14 IP) while allowing four hits with no walks and posting 15 strikeouts, a 0.29 WHIP, a .085 opponents’ batting average and 9.64 strikeouts per 9 innings.
-The Florida native led the Majors in innings pitched; ranked second in opponents’ average; tied for second in WHIP; tied for fourth in strikeouts; and ranked seventh in ERA.
-The right-hander tossed a career-high seven innings on Monday at Los Angeles (AL), allowing one run on one hit with no walks and a career-high eight strikeouts. The lone hit and run came via a solo homer by Mickey Moniak in the third inning.
-On Sunday at Chicago (NL), Francis allowed just three hits over seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. It was the first time that he earned a win in consecutive appearances since April 13 and 19, appearing as a reliever in both contests.
-Since re-entering the rotation on August 7, he has pitched at least five innings and struck out at least seven batters in all three of his starts. His 22 strikeouts during the stretch are fourth-most in the Majors, trailing Chris Sale (32), Blake Snell (29) and Tarik Skubal (23).
Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies (@tvturner)
-The 31-year-old hit .476 (10-for-21) with a homer, four RBIs, three doubles, a walk, six runs scored, a .762 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage in five games last week.
-The Florida native ranked second in the Majors and led the NL in batting average; ranked second among NL hitters in OPS (1.262); tied for second in on-base percentage, hits (10) and doubles; tied for third in slugging; and tied for fifth in runs scored.
-The three-time All-Star notched a season-high four hits on Friday against his former club, going 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored against the Nationals. Tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Turner hit a walk-off RBI single, marking his sixth career walk-off hit and first since August 22 of last year.
-The 2019 World Series Champion with the Nationals finished the series against Washington going 10-for-17 (.588) with a .611 on-base percentage, a .941 slugging percentage and a 1.552 OPS. His 10 hits in the four-game set were the most by a Phillies player since Shane Victorino also had 10 hits in a four-game series against the Giants from May 3-6, 2007. Turner’s 10 hits are tied for second-most in a series of any length across the Majors this season.
-The 13th overall pick of the 2014 MLB Draft has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games since August 6, going 16-for-48 (.333) with a homer, six RBIs, four doubles, seven runs scored and an .826 OPS during the stretch.