Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto has been named the American League Player of the Week for his performances from Monday, Aug. 11 to Sunday, Aug. 17.
Neto went 8-for-25, good enough for a .320 batting average, with four home runs, eight RBI and a 1.254 OPS. Neto was instrumental in the Angels’ three-game sweep of the L.A. Dodgers. He went 3-for-3 with two home runs, two walks and three runs scored in the series opener on Monday. He had a hit in five of six Angels games, a week where L.A. went 4-2.
Neto shares Player of the Week honors with Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets. He went 14-for-25 (.560 AVG) with three home runs, 7 RBI and a 1.647 OPS.
The Angels star is batting .270 on the season with 21 home runs and an .811 OPS. That’s good enough for a 122 OPS+, putting him well above replacement at the plate while bringing strong defense. He has undoubtedly been one of the high points of this season for L.A. and has fully established himself as a cornerstone for the franchise moving forward.
Neto’s Two-Homer Night Powers Angels Past Dodgers 7-4 in Freeway Series
Zach Neto opened the game with his eighth leadoff homer of the season, added another blast in the sixth, and reached base five times as the Los Angeles Angels held off a late rally to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 on Monday night.
Mike Trout delivered a two-run single, and Yoán Moncada drove in two more runs, helping the Angels improve to a perfect 4-0 in this year’s Freeway Series.
The Dodgers, who entered the night leading the National League West by two games, saw their margin shrink to just one over San Diego after the Padres beat San Francisco.
José Soriano (8-9) was dominant for the Angels, holding the defending World Series champions to just two singles and two walks over six scoreless innings. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-8) struggled in one of his worst starts of the season, giving up six runs on six hits and five walks before being chased in the fifth.
Neto wasted no time putting the Angels ahead, crushing Yamamoto’s first pitch of the night in Anaheim for his 18th home run. In the fifth, Bryce Teodosio and Neto scored on Trout’s bases-loaded single, followed by RBI from Moncada and Gustavo Campero to cap a four-run inning.
