Clayton Kershaw has made quite a compelling case for the National League Cy Young Award.
Winning his 21st game of the season Sunday with a 6-2 Los Angeles Dodgers victory over the San Diego Padres, the lefty all but clinched the NL pitching Triple Crown. He leads the league with a 2.28 ERA and 248 strikeouts, with just 54 walks on the season and a 21-5 record, tied with Ian Kennedy for wins. What a badass.
"Right now, I’m just done. I’m already kind of mentally shutting it down. It’s been an awesome year. I don’t like to look at personal stuff too often. But right now, this is the time that I can start looking back a little bit. I had a lot of fun this year."
Neither Kershaw or Kennedy are scheduled to pitch over the final three games of the regular season, with Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee (the only pitcher of the four to have a shot at improving his stats before the season ends) also involved in the NL Cy Young discussion.
The center fielder, batting .324 with 120 RBI and 40 stolen bases on the year, needs three more longballs to become the fifth player in the history of the game to nail 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the same season. It's possible, but not real likely. Also not likely? Winning the Triple Crown at this point.
New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is sitting at .331 heading into their final three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds Monday while Braun and his NL Central-winning Milwaukee Brewers finish out their year against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
[Los Angeles Times]
2 comments:
Seriously, if Kershaw doesn't win the Cy Young, there is something very wrong with the BBWAA.
Sadly, Matt Kemp was well on his way to the triple crown and for sure the batting title up until about last week. I'm not sure he can turn things around in just 3 days.
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