Clayton Kershaw blanked the Rockies for six innings Friday to improve to 16-9 on the season and lower his MLB-best ERA to 1.83.
Kershaw is the first to qualify for the ERA title with an ERA under 2.00 since Roger Clemens came in at 1.87 for the Astros in 2005. His mark is the lowest since Pedro Martinez put up a 1.74 for Boston in 2000.
It will be Kershaw’s third straight NL ERA and WHIP titles. He’s also set to lead the league in strikeouts for a second time with 232 in 236 innings. His second Cy Young is pretty much assured, as well.
There’s also a good case for Kershaw being at the heart of the MVP mix, particularly given that there aren’t any dominant hitters in the National League this year. Alas, his modest win total is sure to doom him there. Not only has Kershaw been limited to 16 wins, but the Dodgers are a mere 19-14 in his 33 starts. That’s a .576 winning percentage that’s practically identical to their .575 mark when he doesn’t pitch.
Of course, it’s not Kershaw’s fault that he’s received such terrible run support; the Dodgers have scored a total of 23 runs in those 14 starts of his they didn’t win. But it’s quite a dent in a claim that he’s the NL’s MVP when his team has been just as good when he doesn’t pitch.
It’s really a moot subject anyway. While the statistically inclined will advance cases for starting pitchers in the MVP balloting, the fact is that no NL starter has finished in the top five since Greg Maddux came in third in 1995.