The Kansas City Royals announced this morning that infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield and left-handed pitcher Jake Diekman have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for the month of May. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Merrifield, 30, hit .305/.359/.534 (36-for-118) in May and led the American League in doubles (10), triples (4) and extra-base hits (17), which trail only Mike Sweeney’s 20 extra-base hits in 2001 for the most by a Royal in the month of May. Merrifield also ranked third in the league with 36 hits and had multi-hit efforts in 11 of 28 games, including a four-hit, five-RBI game on May 7 at Houston in which he hit his first career grand slam.