Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays DH, named American League player of the month
Toronto slugger's August included 26-game hitting streak
After dominating at the plate for all of August, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League's player of the month.
Toronto's first baseman/designated hitter had a league-best .407 average for August, hitting 11 homers and driving in 35 runs over that span.
He also finished first in the league in slugging percentage (.907) and extra-base hits (21).
Encarnacion had a hit in every game he played in August as he built a 26-game hitting streak from July 26 to Aug. 31. The streak tied for the second-longest in Blue Jays history.
He is the first AL player with a hitting streak longer than 25 games since Ichrio Suzuki logged a streak of 27 in 2009.
His streak also included Saturday's three-homer, nine-RBI performance in Toronto's 15-1 win over Detroit.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Josh Donaldson, who also had an 11-homer, 35-RBI month, and Encarnacion became the first pair of teammates to have at least 10 home runs and 35 RBIs in a single month since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in July 1931.
Donaldson and Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros also received votes.