The rest of the National League can grab a seat. In the race for the NL Cy Young Award, only candidates from the Giants and Cardinals need apply.
As both teams make a postseason push, each has a pair of pitchers in line for the sport’s most prestigious honor for hurlers. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain have combined for 26 wins for San Francisco while Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright have 30 victories for St. Louis. Who deserves the honor with one month left in the season? Glad you asked. Here’s a breakdown of the candidates:
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Matt Cain (12-4, 2.39 ERA) » He has had a tremendous season, but his stats can’t quite match his rivals. Cain has 61 walks, the most of any candidate. Since June 1, he has been knocked from a game before the seventh inning just three times — and one of those was because of a line drive off the elbow in the second inning.
Adam Wainwright (16-7, 2.47 ERA) » Was it really just three years ago when Wainwright was a reliever for the Cardinals? He leads MLB with 16 wins — although that stat should never determine a Cy Young candidate’s worth. Wainwright has 164 strikeouts, but opponents do bat .240 against him. Best case for Wainwright? He is durable, with 193 innings pitched.
Chris Carpenter (14-3, 2.20 ERA) » Carpenter just doesn’t lose. His ERA is the lowest in baseball. He also has pitched fewer innings (151 2/3) and has far fewer strikeouts (115) than the other candidates. But he doesn’t give opponents anything. Thanks in part to just 25 walks, Carpenter has a WHIP of 0.97 — a number reminiscent of Pedro Martinez in his prime.
Tim Lincecum (13-4, 2.33 ERA) » Only Carpenter has a lower ERA among the four candidates. But Lincecum is by far the toughest pitcher to actually hit. He leads all of baseball with 222 strikeouts and opposing batters are hitting a paltry .208 against him. Seven times this season Lincecum has pitched eight innings or more of shutout ball. He’s looking for his second Cy Young.
