Wilyer Abreu and Jake McCarthy both opened August in style, and on Monday their weeks were rewarded with Player of the Week honors in the American and National Leagues.
Abreu kept Boston rolling with a blistering stretch that featured a 1.584 OPS and three home runs. The Red Sox outfielder put together seven hits in five games, helped Boston go 4-1, and even got a day off Saturday after doing plenty of damage earlier in the week.
His biggest punch came in the form of run production. Abreu drove in nine runs from Aug. 3-9, the most in the AL, while also drawing five walks and striking out only twice in 23 plate appearances. On Tuesday against the White Sox, he went deep twice in a game that helped spark a blowout win, part of Boston’s sixth straight victory during a nine-game winning streak.
The 27-year-old is hitting .255 with 20 homers on the season and has piled up a 4.6 bWAR. This is his second Player of the Week nod in three weeks, making him only the fourth repeat winner in the AL alongside Yordan Alvarez, Ben Rice and Byron Buxton.
McCarthy’s first season with Colorado has kept delivering, even if the team results didn’t match his production last week. The outfielder hit safely in all six games and led MLB with 14 hits, while striking out just once in 28 plate appearances.
The Rockies went 1-5, but McCarthy’s bat was impossible to miss. He hit .519 for the week with a 1.352 OPS, and his season average now sits at .306, fourth-best in the NL. McCarthy, who turned 29 on July 30, is the first Colorado player to win the award in 2026.
Milwaukee also had a weekly winner, though in a different category. Brewers rookie Luis Lara earned Play of the Week after a leaping grab in extra innings on Sunday.
In right field, Lara tracked down Kody Clemens’ drive in the top of the 10th, crashed into the wall, and prevented Minnesota from scoring. The Brewers later walked it off for a 4-3 win.
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