Cubs' Arrieta wins Cy Young award
Chicago Cubs pitching ace Jake Arrieta was named the National League Cy Young winner on Wednesday, garnering 17 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers' Association of America and beating out Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke.
Arrieta rode a dominant second half of the season to a record of 22-6 with an ERA of 1.77 and a WHIP of 0.86. He ended the season with a streak of 20 straight quality starts, including a no-hitter at Dodger Stadium before a national TV audience on Sunday night, Aug. 30.
Greinke went 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA and a WHIP of 0.84, which led the NL.
Kershaw, last year's Cy Young winner, had a record of 16-7 with an ERA of 2.13 and a WHIP of 0.88.
Arrieta, who remained the Cubs' ace despite the acquisition of Jon Lester last off-season, led major-league baseball with his 22 victories. His 1.77 ERA was the lowest by a qualifying Cubs starting pitcher since Grover Cleveland Alexander posted a 1.72 ERA in 1919.
From Aug. 4 on, Arrieta went 11-0 with an 0.41 ERA in 12 starts. The ERA is the lowest from Aug. 1 through the end of the season since ERA became an official stat.
Arrieta tossed a complete-game 4-hitter on Oct. 7 to beat the Pirates 4-0 in the wild-card playoff game. That start did not figure into the Cy Young Award because voters had to submit their ballots before the playoffs began.
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