MLB matchup of the year? Sale set to face Kershaw
By Todd Salem
The Chicago White Sox will be playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in a series starting Monday, June 2. It is quite possible that Monday’s game will pit the two best lefties in all of baseball against each other. Chicago’s Chris Sale and Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw are the two probable starters for this matchup.
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Although Kershaw has not been his normal self yet this season, he still is the reigning Cy Young Award winner, and he’s still the best the National League has to offer. The numbers aren’t perfect thanks to an early trip to the disabled list and a sloppy return after that, but Kershaw is 3-1 on the season with a 3.49 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. However, his performance has been better than those figures would indicate. With a 1.54 FIP, Kershaw is still performing at a Cy Young level with the things he can control most: strikeouts, walks and home runs.
As for Sale, he looks like he might be the front runner for the American League Cy Young Award at this point in the season. He is currently 4-0 with a 1.73 ERA and 0.68 WHIP. His 5.38 strikeouts/walk is an even better rate than he had last season, when he took the league by storm and battled for the Cy Young while finishing with an 11-14 record.
MLB voters are slowly but surely coming around to the idea that a pitcher’s won-loss record may not be as important as previously thought, in regards to post-season awards. There is so much that is out of Sale’s control when the White Sox lose, it is unfair to saddle him with the L.
Of course, he is doing everything in his power this year to get that record over .500 for his team. When he faces Kershaw, it may not be enough.