Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets have been named the National League Co-Players of the Week for the week of June 1-7. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Both Kershaw and deGrom were tied for the NL lead in wins (2), innings pitched (15.0) and strikeouts (18) last week while their matching 1.20 ERAs were tied for the third-lowest among qualifying NL hurlers. Each allowed just three free passes during the week.

Kershaw capped his week with an 8.0-inning one-hitter in which he struck out 11 Cardinals batters in a 2-0 win on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. The gem marked the sixth career start of allowing one-or-fewer hits for the southpaw, who improved to 5-3 on the season. It also marked the first time in 2015 that Kershaw had won back-to-back decisions. On Monday, the 2014 NL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner earned his fourth victory, scattering five hits across 7.0 innings in an 11-4 win at Colorado. Kershaw leads the NL with 101 strikeouts, while his 80.1 innings of work rank second. This is his sixth career weekly honor, having won most recently for the week of June 8-14, 2014.

Kershaw allowed only one hit while striking out 11 against the Cardinals on Saturday night.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After allowing two runs (one earned) in the first inning of Sunday’s start at Arizona, deGrom settled in to deliver a 7.0-inning, 10-strikeout performance en route to a 6-3 win over the D-backs. The win was the fifth in as many outings for the 26-year-old right-hander. Prior to Ender Inciarte’s leadoff double to start the game, deGrom had not surrendered an extra-base hit across four consecutive starts, spanning 33.1 innings. On Monday, deGrom limited the San Diego Padres to just two hits and no walks across 8.0 shutout innings while fanning eight in a 7-0 win at San Diego. It marked the third consecutive game in which the NL’s reigning Rookie of the Year had recorded at least eight strikeouts without allowing a free pass. With the performance, deGrom joined Cliff Lee (2013) and Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins (1976) as the only pitchers in the modern era to have fanned eight-or-more while not issuing a single walk in three consecutive games (Elias Sports Bureau). This is deGrom’s second career Player of the Week citation, having won previously for the week of July 21-27, 2014.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Philadelphia’s Maikel Franco (.400, 7 R, 10 H, 3 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 1.000 SLG, .400 OBP); Joc Pederson (.258, 6 R, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .742 SLG) of the Dodgers; Colorado’s Troy Tulowitzki (.476, 5 R, 10 H, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .810 SLG); and Pittsburgh’s Mark Melancon (0-0, 5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP).

In recognition of their National League Co-Player of the Week Awards, Kershaw and deGrom 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)