Awards week in the MLB has arrived and the third day of awards were highlighted by pitchers. Two ace’s from playoff teams are taking home some hardware for the first time in their careers.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta will be taking home the NL Cy Young award. He went 22-6 in 2015 with a 1.77 ERA on the season. After finishing the first half with a two-hitter against the crosstown Chicago White Sox, Arrieta went 12-1 with a 0.75 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break, with two shutouts, including his no-hitter on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 30th. Arrieta’s 0.75 post-All-Star ERA was the lowest second-half ERA since the All-Star Game started in 1933. His 0.41 ERA from Aug. 4 through the end of the season was the lowest mark over the final two months of a season in MLB history.
Arrieta is the fifth Cubs pitcher to win the award, joining Ferguson Jenkins, Bruce Sutter, Rick Sutcliffe and Greg Maddux. Maddux was the last Cubs Cy Young winner in 1992.
Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel went 20-8, with a 2.48 ERA, 216 strikeouts. He pitched an AL-high 232 innings and had a 1.02 WHIP in 2015. He also didn’t lose a single game at home, with a 15-0 record and a 1.46 ERA at Minute Maid Park for the Astros.
He is the first Astros pitcher to win the Cy Young since Roger Clemens won in 2004 and third overall, joining Clemens and Mike Scott.
Both Arrieta and Keuchel had huge wins in the Wild Card round of the MLB Playoffs.
Following from Doug Miller of MLB.com.
Keuchel claimed 22 of the 30 first-place votes to beat out Blue Jays left-hander David Price and A’s righty Sonny Gray. Arrieta took 17 first-place votes for a total of 169, beating out Dodgers teammates Zack Greinke (10 first-place votes, 147 points) and Clayton Kershaw (three first-place votes, 101 votes).
