No division leader in the American League had larger than a three-game cushion entering Wednesday’s games. That will make for an intriguing playoff push, one that could affect a tight AL Cy Young race.
The Yankees’ CC Sabathia leads the league in wins (16), the Tigers’ Justin Verlander leads in strikeouts (178) and the Angels’ Jered Weaver leads in ERA (1.88).
A case can be made for each pitcher.
Sabathia has lost just once since allowing six runs against the Red Sox on June?9 and pitches in the toughest division in baseball. He has faced the top-four offenses in the league — Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees and Blue Jays — two more times than the other leading candidates despite playing for one of them.
Verlander has had some of the most memorable outings of the season. He threw a no-hitter May 7 against the Blue Jays, allowed just one hit in eight innings in his last outing vs. the Angels and had a complete-game two-hitter against the Indians in June.
Weaver’s 1.88 ERA is substantially better than the 2.20 ERA of Boston’s Josh Beckett, who is second in the AL. In May, Weaver was 0-4 with a 3.38 ERA. In the other four months, he has a 14-1 record and 1.41 ERA.
All three of these pitchers have had a season worthy of winning the Cy Young, but whoever has the greatest impact on the AL playoff races will bring home the award.
