Who knows where Giancarlo Stanton's numbers wind up by season's end. But if they do end up being historic, he could look back on this past week as to why.Already white-hot since the All-Star break, Stanton slugged his way to his second National League Player of the Week Award in

Who knows where Giancarlo Stanton 's numbers wind up by season's end. But if they do end up being historic, he could look back on this past week as to why.

Already white-hot since the All-Star break, Stanton slugged his way to his second National League Player of the Week Award in the past three weeks.

Stanton hit five home runs and had 11 RBIs last week, a seven-game stretch that spanned six days. This on the heels of a recent six-game stretch earlier this month when Stanton homered in every game.

"Just a good week for me, a good week for the team," Stanton said. "Got to keep it going."

• Past NL Players of Week winners

It all added up to Stanton becoming the sixth player in MLB history to reach the 50-homer mark before the end of August. Stanton's 50th blast of the season came on Sunday afternoon, punctuating his week and sending the suddenly-back-in-it Marlins to a 6-2 win over the Padres.

"It's gotta be up there with one of the best," Stanton said of his 50th homer. "It's my career high. It put us up. It gave us a sweep. Pretty good things all around it."

The four-time NL All-Star, who went by "Cruz" during Players Weekend, now leads the NL in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS. The Player of the Week Award is the sixth of his career and the fourth earned by a Marlins player this season.

Where the Marlins are in the standings, within striking distance of the second National League Wild Card spot, Stanton is now focused on the series with the Nationals.

"It's not going to be different the rest of the year," Stanton said. "It's doesn't matter who we are facing, everyone is going to be huge. You've got to show up every night."