by Stuart Kirsch
Shane Bieber Rules the AL in Pitching as MLB Hits the Final Month /
Cleveland Ace Shane Bieber added all but the victory to his elite 2020 season with a six-inning shutout performance against the Kansas City Royals. The Cy Young and pitching Triple Crown favorite gave up a single hit and four walks, throwing 105 pitches.
Bieber struck out two Royal batters on swinging strikes in each of the first three innings, fanning nine in the game, and the one KC hit barely made it out of the infield. The Indians batters put a run on the board in the top of the seventh to position him for the win, but the bullpen gave up two walk and two singles in the eighth to plate two in the eventual 2-1 Cleveland loss. Bieber is the only AL pitcher with six wins, his record remaining a perfect 6-0.
He lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.20, more than a run better than his nearest competitors, White Sox hurler Dallas Kuechel at 2.42 and Angel Dylan Bundy at 2.47. In his 52.2 innings pitched in eight starts, he has amassed 84 strikeouts, again far ahead of Lucas Giolito’s 66, Lance Lynn’s 63, and Gerrit Cole’s 60.
Needless to say he leads the junior circuit in strikeouts per nine, and is tied with Minnesota’s Kenta Maeda for the lowest batting average against at .163. The 25-year old has registered the highest WAR on the season among all American League players, not just pitchers with a 2.6 mark. The odds for a Shane Bieber 2020 American League Cy Young awards have gone through the floor to -149.
AL Cy Young Tracker: Early Favorite Cole Fading Away /
Gerrit Cole’s march to a Cy Young award was pushed off-course last season by his Astros teammate Justin Verlander’s spectacular September. The now Yankee was the preseason and early-season favorite to get back on that straight-and-narrow path, but Bieber had as much to say about that as Cole’s own performance.
Cole fell into early trouble against the Rays and never had an easy inning, the damage done both for his own pitching line and for the Yanks’ hopes for the victory. Rays’ hitters Ji-Man Choi and Kevin Kiermayer touched Cole for longballs in the first two innings. Cole gave up two singles in the third and then two walks in the fourth without surrendering a run, but a walk, single, and an HBP loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth.
A Manuel Margot single scored a run, but the Yanks got an out on the basepaths and Cole retired the side with no further damage. Trailing 4-0 and having thrown 103 pitches, Cole headed for the clubhouse and took the loss in the 5-3 Rays win. Cole’s record dropped to 4-2 with two straight losses.
He has looked over his shoulder a league-high dozen times in his eight starts to watch balls leave the yard, at least once in every game. Cole’s ERA has punched up to 3.91. The former number one overall draft pick has seen his odds for the Cy Young balloon to +600.
AL Cy Young Tracker: Giolito sticking around /
Riding the high of his no-hitter over the Pirates, Chicago pitcher Lucas Giolito returned to earth with a rather pedestrian five-inning stint in a no decision against the Twins. Working with an extra day of rest, the White Sox hurler needed 94 pitches to get through five, giving up four runs—two earned—on four hits and a walk, while striking out eight in the eventual 8-5 Chicago win. Giolito, whose Cy Young odds are tied at +600 with Cole, has a 3-2 record with a 3.14 ERA.
Lance Lynn stays with Texas Through Trade Deadline /
One of the most popular names in the trade rumors was Ranger starter Lance Lynn. The righty has been a workhorse for the disappointing Rangers team and leads the league in innings pitched and batters faced. He took the loss in a sour outing against the Astros, yielding six runs on eight hits in six innings pitched. Lynn’s record dropped to 4-2 and his ERA rose to 2.67. His Cy Young odds likewise rose to +1000.
Oakland Closer Waiting in the AL Cy Young Wings /
The most dominant closer in the league has been closing out games with little fanfare out in Oakland and makes an appearance on the Cy Young odds boards at +1200. Liam Hendriks leads the league with ten saves on the year, to go with a 2-0 record and 1.10 ERA. In the A’s season opener, he gave up his only homer on the year and ignominiously took a blown save. But that was his only one.
Since then, he was given up a single other run in a total of 16+ innings of work in 16 appearances. The 31-year old has struck out 23 and walked but three. The A’s are 16-0 in games that Hendriks pitches. Should Bieber falter in the season’s final month, Hendriks could be waiting to close out the award.
