OAKLAND, Calif. -- Behold, the power of the sacrifice fly.

On Sunday, Joey Gallo delivered the first one of his career. On Monday: He was named the AL's Player of the Week for the first time in his career.

Coincidence?

"If I'd have known that, I would have tried to do it earlier, instead of trying to get hits with guys on third base," Gallo cracked in response Monday afternoon. "Actually, it's a pretty good feeling."

Actually, that's because he's been more than pretty good.

For the week, Gallo hit .478 (11 for 23) with four homers and 11 RBIs in six games. He led the AL in batting average, raising his season average from .171 to .281 in six games. He also had the first sacrifice of his career in the 4th inning Sunday. It ended a stretch of 1,336 career plate appearances without one. Only Greg Maddux - yes, the Hall of Fame pitcher - and Steve Sax - went more plate appearances before delivering their first sacrifice flies.

For the young season, he is second to Mike Trout in OPS, trailing 1.244 to 1.116. Being in the same conversation with Mike Trout in anything - at any point in the season - is never a bad thing. He is second in RBIs (22) and tied for fourth in homers (eight).

We should stop here for a moment to offer this caveat: These are performance-related numbers. The Rangers have been more concerned with Gallo's process at identifying pitches he can hit and ones he can't and leaving the latter alone.

We should also mention that the Player of the Week uprising comes after a week in which Gallo’s faith in his changes could have been tested. He went 0 for 13 for the previous week and failed to reach base via a walk. He had eight strikeouts. It was an opportunity for Gallo to either reaffirm his dedication to the process he committed to this winter or revert to feeling more comfortable, even if it promised more of the all-or-nothing approach.

"I'd be proud of him right now if his OPS was .500," manager Chris Woodward said. "Regardless of whether it is the Player of the Week or MVP of the season, he's just been attacking things that will help him for the long term."

All that said, before the season began, in the days before the season began, Woodward made specific mention of Gallo and said he hoped he'd have immediate success to serve as reinforcement for the changes he's tried to make.

Among the biggest of those changes: Bringing his hands a little closer and tighter to his body to allow him to better handle inside pitches. Over the weekend, he drove a pair of them over the right field foul pole for majestic home runs. And he lined another ball just inside the foul line for a triple on Sunday.

"Staying inside the ball and keeping my hands as tight as I can has been important," Gallo said. "It's something I worked on all winter. Last year, I'd hit those balls, but I couldn't keep them fair. I'd hit them hard, but smoke them into the dugout, which makes things interesting, but it's not ideal. Being able to keep them fair is a big change.

"In 2015-16, I was getting carved up there," he added. "I think I've come a long way."

Said Woodward: "I feel like he's handling all pitches better. He is believing in himself in all situations. His confidence is in a good place. He's worked his butt off to get there."

Now he has something to show for it: A Player of the Week honor.

And a sacrifice fly.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant