Nationals’ Max Scherzer wins the NL Cy Young Award
Max Scherzer beat Clayton Kershaw for the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, with Corey Kluber winning the American League award.
Scherzer and Kluber also won the respective awards last year. No pitcher had won a Cy Young in consecutive years since Kershaw in 2013 and ’14.
Scherzer got 27 of the 30 first-place votes; Kershaw got the other three.
Kershaw, the Dodgers’ ace, went 18-4 with a 2.31 earned-run average, leading the league in wins, winning percentage and earned-run average. He was limited to 175 innings because of a back injury; no pitcher ever has won the award with so few innings in a non-strike season.
Scherzer, the ace of the Washington Nationals, pitched 200 2/3 innings, with a 16-6 record and 2.51 ERA. He led the league in strikeouts and WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).
Kershaw finished second, becoming the only pitcher besides Hall of Famer Greg Maddux to finish in the top five for seven consecutive seasons. The Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg, who went 15-4 with a 2.52 ERA — including an 0.86 ERA after the All-Star break — finished third.
Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen finished fifth.
Kershaw also won the award in 2011.
Kluber, the ace of the Cleveland Indians, went 18-4 and led the major leagues with a 2.25 ERA. He beat Chris Sale of the Boston Red Sox and Luis Severino of the New York Yankees in the AL voting.
Follow Bill Shaikin on Twitter @BillShaikin
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