Kershaw on fast track to NL MVP?

Clayton Kershaw won his 11th straight game and his 14th overall for the Los Angeles Dodgers in his win Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers tying Adam Wainwright and Johnny Cueto for the MLB wins lead. Kershaw is the first Dodger to win 11 in a row since 1985 when Orel Hershiser did it.

Kershaw leads the MLB with a 1.78 ERA and hasn’t lost a game since May 28. He is second in hits given up in the MLB, first in complete games and has given up the least earned runs with 27. Kershaw has also thrown a no hitter against the Rockies on June 18 of this year.

The NL MVP race for most of the season has been viewed as wide-open between players like Kershaw, Wainwright, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen, Troy Tulowitzki (who has been injured), and Yasiel Puig.

McCutchen and Puig are both batting .311 but both have less than 20 home runs this season, but McCutchen’s rib injury he sustained Aug. 3 has him struggling to stay atop the MVP leaderboard. Stanton has 29 homers so far, but is only batting .290. Tulowitzki was batting a ridiculous .340 with 21 home runs before he went on the disabled list. He hasn’t played since July 19, which can hurt his MVP chances.

Kershaw leads all pitchers in the MLB and has been a big part of the Dodgers NL-best 67-52 record so far this year. Kershaw is the favorite to win the NL MVP according to the Bovada sportsbook at 4-7 and Stanton is in second at 7-4.

The last pitcher to win an MVP honor was Detroit’s Justin Verlander in 2011 when he won with a 24-5 season and 2.40 ERA. Kershaw’s ERA is better and he’s on track to have a better win-loss percentage.

If Kershaw wins the NL MVP trophy, he would be the first pitcher to win it since St. Louis’ Bob Gibson in 1968.