Dodger starting pitcher Josh Beckett was named National League Co-Player of the Week for the period ending May 25, along with Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals. This marks the second consecutive week that a Dodger player has earned the honor, following Yasiel Puig’s selection last week.

Beckett leads all Dodgers starters with his excellent .186 BAA and 1.02 WHIP.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

On Sunday, Beckett threw the first no-hitter of the 2014 season in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The no-hitter was the first of the veteran’s career and marked the 21^st in Dodger franchise history, the most of any Major League franchise. Beckett became the first Dodger hurler to accomplish the feat since Hideo Nomo (September 17, 1996 at Colorado). The 34-year-old right-hander joined Randy Johnson, Dave Stewart, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Lew Burdette and Don Larsen as the only pitchers in Major League history to win a World Series MVP (which Beckett won as a member of the Marlins in 2003) and throw a no-hitter. Beckett became the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Randy Johnson tossed a perfect game at the age of 40 on May 18, 2004. Beckett, who spent most of the 2013 campaign on the disabled list after season-ending surgery in July, needed a career-high 128 pitches in 9.0 innings of work to complete the no-hitter. He walked three and fanned six in the outing as the Dodgers took the rubber-match of their three-game set in Philadelphia. Beckett finished the week with a 2-0 record, a 2.57 ERA (4 ER/14.0 IP) and 12 strikeouts. This is the second career Player of the Week honor for the three-time All-Star, having won previously for the week ending July 13, 2009 while with Boston.

Wainwright paced the Majors with 21 strikeouts last week while posting a perfect 2-0 record with a 0.00 ERA. The Cards’ ace led the N.L. with 17.0 innings pitched across his two starts in which he scattered six hits and walked only one. On Sunday, Wainwright threw 8.0 shutout innings and matched a career high with 12 strikeouts as the Cardinals defeated the Reds 4-0 in the rubber-match of their three-game series at Cincinnati. The victory came on the heels of a complete-game shutout on May 20th in which the two-time N.L. All-Star one-hit the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks in a 5-0 win. Wainwright faced just one batter (28) over the minimum in the outing, walking none and allowing a fourth-inning double while fanning nine. With the two-win week, Wainwright became the first N.L. pitcher to reach the eight-win threshold, joining Toronto’s Mark Buehrle atop the Major League leaderboard in wins. Wainwright is currently tops among qualifying Major League pitchers with a 1.67 ERA (15 ER/81.0 IP) this season. This is his first career Player of the Week Award.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez (.500, 5 R, 13 H, 4 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 SB, .769 SLG, .519 OBP) and Jonathan Lucroy (.500, 14 H, 8 2B, 5 RBI, .857 SLG, .548 OBP); Miami’s Marcell Ozuna (.318, 6 R, 7 H, 3 HR, 9 RBI, .727 SLG, .400 OBP); Beckett’s teammate Yasiel Puig (.522, 5 R, 12 H, HR, .870 SLG, .607 OBP) of the Dodgers; Atlanta’s Justin Upton (.391, 4 R, 3 HR, 10 RBI, .870 SLG, .464 OBP) and Julio Teheran (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 15 SO, 15.0 IP); David Wright (.480, 12 H, HR, .680 SLG, .519 OBP) of the New York Mets; and Washington’s Doug Fister (2-0, 2.19 ERA, 9 SO, 12.1 IP).

In recognition of their National League Player of the Week Award, Josh Beckett and Adam Wainwright will each be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.

(Article courtesy of Dodgers PR Department)