ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Now it's up to the voters.
Left-hander Blake Snell completed his compelling case for the American League Cy Young Award, overcoming a shaky first inning to work five solid innings in the Rays' 4-3 win against the Blue Jays on Saturday.
Snell lowered his AL-best ERA to 1.89, added 10 strikeouts to push his total to 221, and raised his innings total, considered his main shortcoming, to 1802/3, though he didn't get his 22nd win as he left with the score tied; he still finished the season with the majors' most wins.
"I feel like I've put up a good case," Snell said, talking about the award for the first time. "They're going to pick who they pick. I don't have a say. But the work that I did put together I feel like it's a good case to have."
Manager Kevin Cash went further: "There's really not much debate in my opinion.
Houston's Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, Cleveland's Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer and Boston's Chris Sale are the other top candidates.
Snell said all the numbers mentioned above "stand out," but he was most pleased with his overall consistency in going 21-5 with the team 89-72.
"Collectively looking at the whole year, I'm very happy with what I accomplished, what this team accomplished," he said. "We've got one more game to win 90, which is very exciting."
