CLEVELAND _ The race for the American League Cy Young Award has been a one-man show for most of the season, but there's now a robotic-like ace in Cleveland making it a duel.
If the season ended today, Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale would take home the award as the AL's top pitcher. He's been at or near the top in nearly every major category for most of the season. Corey Kluber, in the midst of a historic stretch in some respects, is beginning to seriously challenge Sale's claim to the throne.
Kluber's season has been a tale of two acts. The First Act, through April and early May, involved Kluber pitching through calluses on Opening Day and then back stiffness for roughly the next month. Eventually, on May 2 in Detroit, it forced Kluber's placement on the disabled list.
The Second Act has been a healthier version of Kluber. Since June 1, Kluber has been monitoring his back issue but also has been mostly free of its restraints while on the mound. Sale is undoubtedly deserving to be the favorite for the 2017 AL Cy Young award as of early August. Since May 30, though _ which covers the past 12 starts for each _ a now-healthy Kluber has bested the favorite.
In that time, Kluber has posted a 1.77 ERA and struck out 131 hitters in 861/3 innings for a 13.7 K/9 rate. He has struck out at least eight batters in every start since June 1, joining Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Nolan Ryan as the only pitchers to ever strike out at least eight hitters in 12 consecutive starts. The Big Unit. Pedro. The Ryan Express. And now, Klubot.
"Pretty cool isn't it? Pretty cool," Indians manager Terry Francona said when comparing Kluber to those names in baseball history. "He won't say anything about it. There's nothing wrong about being modest, but that's why we like to brag about him a little bit because he probably won't."
Sale, in his past 12 starts, has a 3.02 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 801/3 innings for a 12.9 K/9 rate. No matter how the numbers are broken down or manipulated, Sale is at or near the top of the league over the duration of the season. He was running away from the field toward his first career Cy Young until June 1. No pitcher had any business making it a serious race, but Kluber has done it.
Kluber essentially won the 2014 AL Cy Young award by putting together a dominating end to his season, a torrid stretch just ahead of the season's finish. Since he returned from his back injury, Kluber already forced his way onto the 2017 AL All-Star Team. Now, he's forcing his way into the debate for his second Cy Young with a run that might the best of his career.
Sale is still, easily, the favorite. But the fact that Kluber is now challenging Sale and bringing some significant doubt into the equation, considering the numbers Sale has put up and that Kluber missed a month of the season, is bordering on amazing.
For any baseball fan, Kluber has been as fun to watch these past two months than any pitcher has in Cleveland in a long time _ or perhaps, ever. Seemingly every start, he's been taking down some franchise record that had stood since World War II. Kluber's name being listed above Bob Feller's is becoming more of a regular occurrence. For instance, Feller had the franchise record of consecutive starts with 10-plus strikeouts with four in 1938-39, until Kluber did it in five consecutive outings this summer. Among the Indians' all-time greats, Feller's is not an easy name to take down in any scenario.
And, it won't change Kluber's demeanor. He'll be the same Kluber. Which is in part a reason why his Second Act has continued for so long, and why Sale now has to check his rear-view mirror not long after hitting cruise control.
