HOUSTON – The Astros' big season is now earning honors for two players. Major League Baseball announced that Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers have been named American League Player and Pitcher of the month for May.
It is a first for the Astros franchise to sweep the awards.
During the month of May, Correa batted .386 with eight doubles, seven homers, 26 RBI and a 1.130 OPS in 26 games. Correa led the AL in batting average and RBI, while ranking third in on-base percentage, fifth in hits and OPS and tied for sixth in slugging in May.
He had multiple hits in 14 of his 26 games, including five consecutive games from May 25-29, which was the longest such streak of his career.
McCullers had a 4-0 record in six starts during the month. He owned a 0.99 ERA with 37 strikeouts and allowed only 21 hits for a .164 opponent batting average.
McCullers led AL pitchers in ERA, ranked tied for second in wins, third in opponent batting average and tied for fifth in strikeouts. He pitched 22.0 scoreless innings from May 6-23, which was the longest scoreless inning streak by an Astros pitcher since Roy Oswalt posted a 32.0-inning streak from Aug. 27 through Sept. 11, 2008.
Additionally, McCullers did not allow an earned run in four consecutive starts from May 6-23. The last Astros pitcher to go at least four games with no earned runs and at least 5.0 innings pitched was in 1984 by Nolan Ryan.
The Astros, 38-16 on the season, open a series Friday night at the Texas Rangers.
