Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was named National League Player of the Week for Sept. 9-16, becoming the organization’s second player to take home honors this season (Matt Kemp, May 28-June 3). It’s the third time in Puig’s career he has earned the recognition.
In seven games, Puig hit a scorching .429/.500/1.190 with one double, five home runs, seven runs scored and nine RBI. His banner week was capped off with a three-home run and seven-RBI performance against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
Puig slugged all five of his home runs in a span of fewer than 24 hours. His first two propelled the Dodgers to a 3-0 victory over the Cardinals on Friday before adding three more in the penultimate game of a four-game series at Busch Stadium.
The outfielder is only the ninth Dodgers player in franchise history with back-to-back multihomer games, becoming the first to accomplish the feat since Cody Bellinger did so as a rookie in June 2017.
Puig’s superhuman performance allowed the Dodgers to temporarily overtake the Cardinals for sole possession of the second NL Wild Card spot. After dropping Sunday’s finale, the two clubs entered Monday in a two-way tie with 12 games remaining in the regular season.
Puig jokingly attributed his success as of late to kissing hitting coach Turner Ward. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Bellinger further praised Puig for elevating his game at a crucial point in the year.
In only 114 games this season, Puig has put up identical numbers from his resurgent 2017 campaign. He’s batting .270/.332/.500 with 20 doubles, 21 home runs and 58 RBI across 407 plate appearances.
