Justin Verlander Wins 20th Game

Not too long ago, Justin Verlander, C.C. Sabathia and Jered Weaver were in a tight three-man race for the AL CY Young Award. But today, one man is out in front: Justin Verlander. The hurler for the Detroit Tigers won his 20th game on Saturday and now has complete control of the Cy Young race.

On the season, Justin Verlander is 20-5 with a 2.38 ERA to go with 218 strikeouts in 215.2 innings. His WHIP of 0.90 is also extremely impressive.

Justin Verlander has been so good this season that there is even talk about him being in the American League MVP race. Personally, I think that award belongs to Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays, but Justin Verlander’s manager is on his side.

“I want everyone in here to know and please print that I support Justin Verlander for MVP to the hilt. I want to make that perfectly clear,” said Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

With Justin Verland leading the way, the Tigers are 73-59 and have a 6.5-game lead in the AL Central. Coming playoff time, no team is going to want to have to face the league’s best pitcher.

Justin Verlander - 2011 American League MVP? (Image: TSN.ca)