Corey Kluber Wins Cy Young, Beating Out Red Sox Ace Chris Sale
BOSTON (CBS) -- Chris Sale will have to wait another year for a shot at his first Cy Young award.
Cleveland ace Corey Kluber brought home the American League Cy Young on Wednesday night, beating out Sale and Yankees righty Luis Serevino. Kluber went 18-4 with a 2.25 ERA and three shutouts (tied for most in the majors) in 2017 to earn his second career Cy Young award.
Midway through the season, it seemed like a sure thing that Sale would win his first Cy Young award. The Red Sox lefty was mowing down opposing batters with ease, striking out 178 batters in 127.2 innings before the All-Star break. He had allowed just 39 earned runs in 148.1 innings when the calendar turned from July to August.
But Sale tailed off down the stretch, sporting a 4.09 ERA while going 4-4 over the final two months of the regular season. Opposing batters had hit just 11 out of the park against Sale from April through July, but took him deep 13 times in August and September.
Sale finished the season 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA and led the majors with an incredible 308 strikeouts.
Kluber dominated after missing nearly all of May with an injury, going 15-2 with a 1.62 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .162 batting average from June to the end of September. That includes a 10-1 stretch with a 1.42 ERA in over final two months of the regular season.