Sporting News

NL Cy Young battle could come down to wins for Gonzalez, Dickey

Winning 20 games doesn't guarantee a Cy Young Award but it could make the difference for Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez this year.

With Clayton Kershaw injured and Johnny Cueto scuffling in September, the vote in the National League could come down to Gonzalez and Mets knuckle-baller R.A. Dickey.

Gio Gonzalez needs one more win to reach 19. (AP Photo)

Gonzalez's main advantage is wins, though it's not much of an advantage. He has 19 to 18 for Dickey. Gonzalez can become the first pitcher in either league to reach 20 wins this season when he starts Saturday against the Brewers.

Dickey, meanwhile, will be making his third attempt for win No. 19 when he faces the Marlins at Citi Field on Saturday. He will have two more starts after Saturday as he tries to become the Mets' first 20-game winner since Frank Viola in 1990.

If Gonzalez were to finish as the National League's only 20-game winner --- 18-game winner Johnny Cueto is the only other pitcher with a legitimate shot --- his chances for the Cy would have to rise. Voters these days have shown they don't consider wins as vital as in previous times but when two pitchers are as close in other stats as Dickey and Gonzalez, wins makes for a suitable tiebreaker.

Dickey leads the league in ERA, innings, shutouts and complete games, entering Friday's action. He trails Clayton Kershaw by one strikeout, though Kershaw might not make another start. Besides wins, Gonzalez also leads in batting average allowed. He is sixth in ERA, 17th in innings and fifth in strikeouts, entering Friday's action. He has two complete games and one shutout to five and three for Dickey.

Dickey did not hide his disappointment when he was passed over to start for the All-Star game for the senior circuit, in part because he is trying to remove any stigma attached to being a knuckle-ball pitcher. Still, he has no plans to pull a Justin Verlander and campaign for an award.

"If you win that award, it means you're basically one of the top two pitchers in the world," he says. "That's a big deal and gives you instant credibility. But no disrespect to the award, the award is the last thing on my mind. It's much more about engaging the process of being the best R.A. Dickey I can be."

Becoming a 20-game winner would aide his process, not to mention cement his chances of taking home the Cy Young.

Around the Web