Scherzer, Kershaw are best pitchers in majors

Max Scherzer was named winner of the Cy Young Award as best pitcher in the American League, while Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw took National League honors in runaway victories on Wednesday.

Scherzer went 21-3 for the AL Central champion Tigers as the only 20-game winner in the majors in 2013 and posted an earned run average of 2.90.

The hard-throwing right-hander received 28 first-place votes of the 30 cast in balloting by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish was runner-up in the voting for the highest finish ever for a Japanese player.

Third place in the balloting went to his compatriot, Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners.

Kershaw, who led the major leagues with a 1.83 earned run average in going 16-9 for the NL West champion Dodgers, also won in a landslide for his second Cy Young.

The 25-year-old lefty garnered 29 of the 30 first-place votes to repeat his 2011 triumph. Kershaw finished second in the Cy Young vote last season.

Adam Wainwright of the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals received the other first-place vote and was runner-up, ahead of NL Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins.

“I feel like anybody can have one great season or one great half of a season,” said Kershaw, who has won three consecutive NL ERA titles. “For me, I think the mark of a truly good player or good pitcher is to be able to do it year in, year out. For me, that’s my goal, to be that model of consistency.”

Reuters