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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Sonny Gray and right fielder Josh Reddick have been named the American League Co-Players of the Week for the period ending September 28th. The announcement was made early Monday on the MLB Network.
Gray went 1-1 with a 0.56 ERA, one shutout and 17 strikeouts in 16.0 innings pitched to claim his first career weekly honor. The 24-year-old, who has also won AL Pitcher of the Month honors in April and July of this season, tied for the Major League lead in innings and was third in the AL in strikeouts.
Reddick led all of Baseball with a .480 (12-for-25) batting average with two doubles, one triple, one homer, seven RBI and four runs scored as the 27-year-old won his second career Player of the Week, last accomplishing the feat on September 3, 2012. He tied for the Major League lead in hits and total bases (19), and amongst American Leaguers, he was first in slugging percentage (.760), tied for second in RBI and was tied for fourth in on-base percentage (.480). The pair became the third and fourth weekly winners this season for the Wild-Card-bound Athletics, joining Jon Lester (9/15) and Brandon Moss (5/19).
[STIGLICH: Rewind: More than one cause for celebration as A's clinch]
On Tuesday, Reddick went 3-for-4 with a double to lead the A's offense, while Gray tossed 7.0 innings of three-hit ball with a careerhigh 12 strikeouts as Oakland was edged out by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 2-0, at O.co Coliseum. Sonny, a Tennessee native, allowed a pair of runs (one earned) and walked three over 98 pitches in the loss. Reddick's three hits tied his season high.
[RELATED: Rewind: Gray delivers, but A's can't capitalize]
On Wednesday against the Halos, Reddick doubled among two hits with two RBI and a run scored, but the A's again fell to the Angels, 5-4. On Friday, Reddick, who hails from Georgia, continued his recent roll by going 2-for-4 with a homer and a two-run single as Oakland got back on track with a 6-2 triumph over the Texas Rangers in Arlington. The win helped the A's reduce their magic number to one to clinch the second slot in the AL Wild Card race behind the Kansas City Royals.
In Saturday's tilt with Texas, the right-handed-hitting Reddick went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored as the Rangers edged out Oakland, 5-4, at Globe Life Park. In a must-win situation for Oakland on Sunday, Gray started and tossed a gem for the Athletics as the right-hander notched his second shutout of the season, striking out six and walking none while Reddick, a Middle Georgia College product, went 2-for-4 with an RBI-triple and a run scored as the A's defeated the Rangers, 4-0, to secure a playoff spot. The A's will face the Royals in the AL Wild Card Game at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night at 5:07 p.m. on TBS.
[RECAP: A's shut out Rangers, postseason bound]
Other noteworthy performances last week included Boston's Rusney Castillo (.400, 2 HR, 6 RBI); Minnesota's Eduardo Escobar (.304, 1 HR, 8 RBI); Baltimore's Nick Markakis (.381, 2 HR, 6 RBI); Chicago's Josh Phegley (.429, 3 HR, 5 RBI); New York's Michael Pineda (2-0, 0.66 ERA, 13.2 IP, 1 BB, 18 SO); and Seattle's Taijuan Walker (1st career CG in 1-0 loss on 9/24 at Toronto).
In recognition of their American League Co-Players of the Week Awards, Sonny Gray and Josh Reddick will each be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.
Courtesy of MLB media relations
