ST. LOUIS – After jump-starting his offensive game in a sweep of the Pirates and carrying it over to a weekend series win over the Dodgers, Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson was named the National League’s Player of the Week on Monday.

The NL’s weekly award is the first of Burleson’s 4 ½-season MLB career. He is the first Cardinals winner of the weekly award since Nolan Gorman on May 22, 2023. 

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton won the American League’s weekly honor. Buxton, 32, hit .345 (10-for-29) with five homers, seven RBI, a double, three walks, nine runs scored, two stolen bases across seven games.

Burleson, 27, came into the week on a long hitting slump that ultimately hit 0 for 15 before he recorded two infield singles down the third base line.

For the week, Burleson hit .407 (11-for-27) with two homers and 11 RBI. He added three doubles, four walks and eight runs scored while posting a .741 slugging percentage and a .484 on-base percentage in seven games.

The Cardinals first baseman tied for the MLB lead for the week in RBI, tied for second in runs scored and tied for third in hits and total bases (20).

Also, Burleson had a hit and an RBI in six consecutive games and registered three straight multi-RBI games. He is the first Cardinal with an RBI in six consecutive games since Willson Contreras did it in 2025. He is seeking to become the first Cardinal with an RBI in seven straight games – since Brendan Donovan did it in June 2024 – on Monday night when the Cardinals host the Brewers at Busch Stadium.   

Burleson’s spinning, squibber along the third base line broke up Pittsburgh’s perfect game bid on Monday night with two outs in the seventh inning – a game the Cards ultimately rallied to win 4-2 win. In the four games against the Pirates, Burleson had eight hits and eight RBI, becoming the first Cardinal with at least eight hits and eight RBI in a single series since Paul Goldschmidt (10 hits and nine RBI) in a four-game series against Pittsburgh in June of 2022.

Burleson, a Silver Slugger winner in 2025, leads the Cardinals with 12 multi-hit games and he’s tied with Jordan Walker in three-hit games (three).

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