'That's a classic': Cy Young favorites Justin Verlander, Dylan Cease set to clash in Chicago

CHICAGO — A rare, late season matchup of Cy Young favorites takes place on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field when Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander takes on White Sox righty Dylan Cease.

The two pitchers rank first and second in ERA with Verlander's 1.85 mark a tick better than Cease's 1.96. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it's just the third matchup of starting pitchers with sub 2.00 ERAs (with a minimum of 20 starts) since MLB lowered the mound in 1969.

«This is like when I was a kid,» Astros manager Dusty Baker said on Monday afternoon. "(Sandy) Koufax and Juan Marichal, Don Drysdale and Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins and Bob Gibson.… I'm going to have to be careful and make sure I don't spectate… because if I was at home, I'd get me a bowl of popcorn and some beer and the only time I would leave is if there was a commercial or in between innings. That's a classic good one."

Coming into the night, Verlander is a minus-175 favorite to win his third Cy Young award while Cease has the second shortest odds at plus-275, according to Caesars Sportsbook.

As much as the players are focused on the game, the award isn't something they're shying away from either.

«I try not to fixate on it,» Cease said. «We have a lot of other things going on but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't on my mind.

»Depending on the results (of the game), it could change things up but there's still so much season left I don't think whoever does better tomorrow is the winner. It's definitely important."

Cease has allowed one or fewer earned runs in 14 straight starts, the longest such streak since earned runs became official in both leagues in 1913. Over that timeframe, he's lowered his ERA from 4.26 to 1.96.

Verlander was asked about Cease