August was one of the best months record-wise in Milwaukee Brewers history, so it was only fitting they had both the player and pitcher of the month in the National League.
Second baseman Brice Turang was rewarded for his sudden power surge with the NL player of the month while right-hander Freddy Peralta was the pitcher of the month after allowing only one run.
It’s the first such award for Turang, while Peralta won for the first time since August 2023, when he struck out 46 in 30 innings, and second overall.
The last – and only other – time the Brewers had a player and pitcher of the month? Try July of 2008, when Ryan Braun and CC Sabathia both were so honored.
Turang had all of 19 career home runs to his name across 396 games coming into the month, but slugged 10 homers while leading all of baseball with a 1.093 OPS.
What may seem like an out-of-nowhere power outbreak from Turang has actually been a long time coming, with the reigning Rawlings Platinum Glove Award winner seeing upticks in bat speed and strength throughout the season.
It’s now paying off, albeit to a level few could have expected considering Turang entered the month with the lowest slugging percentage in baseball among qualified hitters since his debut in 2023.
Peralta, meanwhile, allowed one run on Aug. 5 at Atlanta and nothing the rest of the way over four starts. He upped his MLB-best wins total to 16 with four more victories in the month and carries a 24-inning scoreless streak into his next start.
In finishing August with a 0.32 ERA, Peralta became the first Brewers pitcher ever to record four straight starts of at least five innings and no runs allowed.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Brewers had both the National League player and pitcher of the month in August
Reporting by Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
