Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira was named the American League Player of the Week on Monday. Teixeira hit safely in all six games he played last week, batting .458 (11- for-24) with two homers, five runs batted in and six runs scored. He also had a .500 on-base percentage and an .875 slugging percentage, while leading the AL with 21 total bases and four doubles. The Rangers were 4-2 last week with the help of Teixeira, who homered in consecutive games over the weekend during Texas' sweep of the Houston Astros. It marks the second player of the week honor for Teixeira, who also captured the award last July 4. Other top candidates this week included New York Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano, who won both of his starts with a complete game and a 0.56 earned run average, and Chicago White Sox teammates A.J. Pierzynski and Jermaine Dye. Pierzynski hit a grand slam and finished with three homers and nine runs batted in with a .368 average, while Dye had three homers and a .444 average. Cleveland's Ronnie Belliard was also considered after batting .533 with a .611 on-base percentage.