Tigers' Zimmermann, Martinez earn AL awards

Zimmermann named Pitcher of the Month, Martinez named Player of the Week

DETROIT – Jordan Zimmermann and Victor Martinez polished off a solid April for the Detroit Tigers by taking home a pair of American League awards that were announced Monday.

Zimmermann was named AL Pitcher of the Month after winning each of his first five starts with the Tigers and allowing only two runs in 33 innings. He also struck out 23 batters and walked only seven, posting a WHIP of 1.06.

Chart: Jordan Zimmermann game-by-game performance in April.

For a Tigers rotation that struggled throughout the first month, Zimmermann was the ace Detroit sorely needed. Batters hit just .224 against him with a .272 slugging percentage -- good for the fifth best mark in the AL.

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April marked Zimmermann's second career Pitcher of the Month award. He won NL honors while pitching for the Nationals in July 2012. Zimmermann is the Tigers' first Pitcher of the Month since Justin Verlander in April 2012.

On offense, Martinez took home American League Player of the Week honors after hitting .519 with five doubles and three homers over seven games.

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Martinez is slugging .663 this season with a team-leading 1.072 OPS and 18 RBI. He has more doubles (10) than strikeouts (9) in 24 games.

Graph: Tigers' team leaders in offensive categories.

This is the fifth time Martinez has been named AL Player of the Week.

The Tigers (14-10), have a night off Monday before starting a three-game series in Cleveland Tuesday night. They trail the Chicago White Sox by three games in the AL Central Division.


About the Author:

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.