ST. LOUIS — The red-hot Cardinals have been fueled lately by the hot bat of their Canadian slugger. And on Monday, Tyler O'Neill was rewarded for his monstrous week.
Major League Baseball named O'Neill the National League Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 13 through Sept 19.
During that span, the 26-year-old left fielder hit .391 with 10 RBI, nine runs scored and a 1.308 OPS. The Cardinals were undefeated last week with sweeps against the Mets and Padres, and have won eight in a row overall to take a hold on the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
O'Neill had a signature moment this past week as well, with a go-ahead, two-run home run in the eighth inning of Sept. 18th's win over the San Diego Padres.
This is the first time O'Neill has won the award in his career. Cardinals second baseman Tommy Edman won a POTW award earlier this season and starter Adam Wainwright was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for August.
For the year, O'Neill is hitting .282 with an .890 OPS, 28 home runs and 66 RBIs in 429 at-bats for the Cardinals. He has the second-highest WAR on the team after first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
O'Neill has helped the Cardinals catapult into that second Wild Card spot in the National League with just two weeks left to play. As of Monday, the Cardinals hold a three-game lead on the Reds, and are three and a half games up on the Phillies and Padres.
Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez was named the Player of the Week in the American League, after hitting .500 with a 1.460 OPS during the week.
