Cam Schlittler sees ERA dip to 1.95 as Yankees defeat Mets - ESPN

NEW YORK — With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Cam Schlittler, after a dominant outing Sunday against the New York Mets that dropped his ERA to 1.95, is the clear-cut favorite to take home the American League Cy Young Award. His manager, however, thinks he should be considered for another piece of hardware.

«I think valuable is a good word,» New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. «He might be the MVP too. I mean, he's been awesome. Just an awesome season.»

Excluding Shohei Ohtani and his two-way exploits, a pitcher hasn't been named MVP since Clayton Kershaw won the National League award with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014. Justin Verlander is the last pitcher to win AL MVP in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers. This season, Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez is the overwhelming favorite to win AL MVP, with Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero likely to finish as runner-up.

Schlittler, 25, called his manager's endorsement «a great compliment,» but he shied away from engaging in the possibility. He has taken the same approach to the Cy Young race, which has been a two-man competition between him and Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Dylan Cease for most of the summer.

But Schlittler has distanced himself from the competition in recent weeks. The lanky right-hander took the mound Sunday looking to hush the Mets chants he heard during Saturday's 12-2 loss and did the job, holding the crosstown rivals to one hit and two walks over six scoreless innings as the Yankees took the three-game series.

It was the sixth time Schlittler has recorded at least eight strikeouts without allowing a run this season, behind only Ron Guidry's seven such outings in 1978 for the most in franchise history. He has