Cy Young Award race as tight as the National League West standings

The race for the National League Cy Young Award is as tight as the race for the National League West title.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are not only battling for the NL West championship, but the best record in baseball. Since September started, the Dodgers and Giants have been in a virtual deadlock for the lead in the NL West.

After Sunday’s games, the surprising Giants had a 2.5 game lead over the Dodgers with 18 games to play in the regular season. The Giants are 9-2 in September and won their seventh game in a row, 6-5 over the Chicago Cubs, on Sunday.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, are 7-4 in September after beating the slumping San Diego Padres, 8-0, on Sunday.

The Dodgers briefly took the lead in the NL West standings at the start of the month. But the Giants found some breathing room after sweeping the Colorado Rockies and Cubs last week.

The race for the NL West pennant is going to be tight.

But maybe not as tight as the race for the National League Cy Young Award.

The Dodgers have three pitchers who can make a case for the NL Cy Young Award. If not for Julio Urias, Walker Buehler and Max Scherzer, the Dodgers might not be in the conversation for winning the NL West Division, let alone making the playoffs.

But who is the favorite among the three to win the Cy Young Award? 

Urias leads the National League in wins with 17. He has a 2.98 ERA and 175 strikeouts. Those numbers are undoubtedly impressive. But they are almost identical to St. Louis Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright, who is not exactly in the Cy Young conversation. Wainwright is 15-7 with a 2.98 ERA. He has 163 strikeouts, 12 behind Urias. But both Urias and Wainwright have identical WHIPs at 1.03.

Buehler is tied for third in the National League in wins with 14. He is third in the NL with a 2.32 ERA and third in the NL in WHIP at 0.98. That makes him, at best, the third best pitcher in the National League.

Scherzer might be the favorite of the Dodgers trio to win the Cy Young Award. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres on Sunday and won his 14th game of the season. 

His record is the worst of the three, at 14-4. But he leads the NL with a 2.17 ERA and is tied for fourth in the NL in strikeouts with 219. His 0.82 WHIP is the best in the National League.

Scherzer will have the most competition from Kevin Gausman of the Giants and Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Gausman is not only the ace of the team with the best record in baseball, he is fifth in the NL with a 2.65 ERA. His strikeout numbers, 201, are among the best in the National League to boot.

Burnes almost pitched a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night. He didn’t give up a hit in eight innings and won his 10th game of the season.

His win total is not that impressive, but he is second in the National League with a 2.25 ERA and 0.91 WHIP.

Scherzer has emerged as the ace of the Dodgers rotation. But will it be enough to win the Cy Young Award?

Leading the Dodgers to the National League West championship will only help Scherzer’s argument for the Cy Young Award.

Dodger starting pitching power rankings:

1. Julio Urias
2. Max Scherzer
3. Walker Buehler
4. Tony Gonsolin
5. Mitch White

The Dodgers (91-53) host the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium for a three-game series starting on Monday. The Dodgers end the week with a series on the road against the suddenly inspired Cincinnati Reds starting on Friday.