As the Indians have surged, so has Kluber’s case for the Cy Young Award. He won it in 2014 and finished third last season, and he just might be hot enough to steal it from Boston’s Chris Sale this year.
Sale has four top-five finishes in Cy Young voting but has never won the award. He pitched six scoreless innings on Saturday against Tampa Bay for his league-leading 16th win, against seven losses, lowering his E.R.A. to 2.76; he also leads the majors in strikeouts (278) and innings pitched (195 ?). He has more starts than Kluber, who missed four weeks in May with a lower back strain, but otherwise the pitchers have been remarkably similar.
Asked recently if he cared about the winning another Cy Young Award, Kluber said: “No. Winning the division, first off, is important, and the postseason after that.”
It was a reasonable response from a pitcher who won twice in the World Series last fall before tiring in Game 7, which the Indians lost to the Chicago Cubs in extra innings. The Indians are all but assured of another October chance, with their No. 2 starter, Carlos Carrasco, healthy this time.
“There’s no guarantees,” Kluber said, “but a few of us have that…
