New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and LA Angels of Anaheim righthander Bartolo Colon have been named the American League Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for August. Rodriguez had a sensational August by drilling a major-league leading 12 home runs, while driving in 24 runs and scoring 22 runs in 29 contests. He led the league with a .733 slugging percentage and 77 total bases. The 30-year-old slugger also homered in three straight games (8/7-8/9) and finished the month ranked 38th on the all-time home run list with 421. This is the sixth career Player of the Month Award for Rodriguez and his second as a member of the Yankees. It also marked the second straight month a Yankee has captured the award. First baseman/designated hitter Jason Giambi won the award in July. Colon was simply stellar on the mound, posting a 5-0 mark with a 1.72 ERA in six games in August. He permitted just nine earned runs over 47.0 innings of work. This is the third career AL Pitcher of the Month Award for Colon. Oakland pitcher Joe Blanton, who went 3-1 in seven August starts, was named the AL Rookie of the Month. The young hurler allowed just six runs in 46.0 innings of work. This is the second AL Rookie of the Month Award for Blanton, who also won the award in June.