The road to a NL Cy Young award will be extremely difficult for Kevin Gausman since he plays in a league that includes Jacob de Grom, but in the month of May, there was nobody better. On Wednesday, MLB honored Gausman for that incredible stretch.
Gausman was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for May after going 5-0 with a 0.73 ERA in six starts. He pitched 37 innings, striking out 49 batters while allowing just 22 hits and walking six. In his six May starts, Gausman surrendered just three total runs.
He is the first Giant to be Pitcher of the Month since Madison Bumgarner won the award twice in 2014.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Gausman did most of his damage while battling a tight hip that knocked him out of his last start early, but the Giants got good news from an MRI on Monday and Gausman will make his next start against the Cubs.
That will continue what has been a brilliant second season in San Francisco. Overall, Gausman is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA and 0.81 WHIP.
Gausman ranks third in MLB in ERA behind de Grom (0.71) and Milwaukee's Brandon Woodruff (1.27), and also is in the top 10 in strikeouts, opponents average and WHIP. The Denver native is well on his way to securing a trip back home for July's All-Star Game at Coors Field.
RELATED: Giants hope for good news after Yaz sprains right thumb
San Francisco Giants
Taking this next step will set Gausman up beautifully as a free agent, which is the only bit of bad news for the Giants. They briefly talked to Gausman about a multi-year deal in the offseason but couldn't find common ground.
Gausman ended up accepting the qualifying offer, and he has been better than ever.