The Washington Nationals had a pretty decent May as a team, going 16-14 and maintaining their lead in the National League East, but two players in particular had great months. Award-winning months, to be precise.
Pitcher Gio Gonzalez earned the NL Pitcher of the Month award for May and outfielder Bryce Harper snagged the NL Rookie of the Month award.
Gonzalez went 5-0 in May with a 2.25 ERA and an NL-leading 45 strikeouts in 32 innings. That makes two Pitcher of the Month awards for the Nats in as many months; Stephen Strasburg won the same award in April.
Meanwhile, Harper hit .271 with four home runs, 10 RBIs and an NL rookie-leading 107 at-bats.
Both played Sunday in Washington's 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Harper kept up his hot streak with his fifth homer of the season, but Gonzalez had a rough go of it as he lasted only 4 2/3 innings after allowing three runs on seven hits.
At least we had May.
Sports
Adam Vingan is co-founder and editor of Kings Of Leonsis, a Caps-centric blog. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_KOL and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.
