By Brian McTaggart

Astros catcher Jason Castro was named on Tuesday as the team’s first American League Player of the Week.

Castro hit .579 (11-for-19) with one double, three home runs, five RBIs and five runs scored in six games for the week that ended Sunday, including a 10-for-12 stretch in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Oakland A’s.

Castro is the first Houston player to be honored as Player of the Week since Hunter Pence was named NL Player of the Week in September, 2010. Castro led the Majors in batting average, slugging percentage (1.105) and on-base percentage (.636), was tied for fourth in homers and was tied for fifth overall in total bases (21).

On Monday against the Kansas City Royals, the 25-year-old launched his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot in the third inning as the Astros went on to defeat the Royals, 6–5, at Minute Maid Park. After drawing a walk in a pinch-hitting appearance in a loss to Kansas City on Tuesday, Castro and the Astros bounced back in the rubber match between the two Clubs on Wednesday with a 3–1 victory.

The California native shined on the offensive and defensive sides, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored at the plate, while throwing out a pair of base runners in the latter half of the contest to help seal the win for Houston.

On Saturday, the Stanford University product combined with teammate Matt Dominguez to launch a pair of homers each, but their efforts were not enough as the host Astros fell to the Oakland Athletics, 11–5. Castro went 3-for-4 in the outing as he and Dominguez became the first Astros duo to collect multiple homers in the same game since Lance Berkman and Craig Biggio on July 25, 2005 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Castro’s pair of blasts gives him six homers on the season, equaling his 2012 total and tying a career high. Houston’s first round pick (10th overall) in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft continued to swing a hot bat in Sunday’s matchup with Oakland, collecting a career-high four hits and scoring a run as Houston fell to the visiting A’s, 6–2.

Castro, in his third Major League season, became the first Astros player with at least three hits in three straight games since Ty Wigginton on August 15–17, 2008.

In recognition of his American League Player of the Week Award, Jason Castro will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time.