Headline: AL Cy Young Award Contenders Cam Schlittler and Dylan Cease Shine in Recent Starts
The race for this year’s AL Cy Young Award intensified on Friday night as two prominent pitchers showcased impressive performances. New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler recorded eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, leading his team to a narrow 1-0 victory against the Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, Toronto Blue Jays righty Dylan Cease matched that strikeout total in an 8-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Schlittler, 25, surpassed the 200-strikeout mark, joining Cease in this notable achievement. Cease, 30, continued his remarkable streak, achieving seven or more strikeouts in a game for the 19th consecutive start. The last player to accomplish such a feat in a single season was Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2001, according to MLB.com.
Johnson, who won one of his five Cy Young Awards that season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, also captured the World Series MVP and ran his streak of games with seven-plus strikeouts to 20.
Cease has a chance to tie Johnson’s record during his next start. The Blue Jays, with a 66-70 record, are in a competitive battle for wild-card positioning. In Friday’s game, Cease pitched six innings, allowing just one run.
Both pitchers participated in this year’s All-Star Game, where Cease received the starting nod. Earlier this season, he dazzled with a 12-strikeout performance in March and nearly achieved a no-hitter, which would have been his second career no-hitter after his first with the San Diego Padres in 2024. Later that month, he threw a complete game, one-hit shutout.
Currently, Schlittler holds a slight advantage in earned run average and is seen as the frontrunner for the AL Cy Young Award. However, Cease is just behind Milwaukee Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski in strikeouts for the season, and his strikeout totals show no signs of slowing down.
The race for this year’s AL Cy Young Award is heating up. There was no cease fire on Friday night.
While New York Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler delivered eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball during a series-opening 1-0 win over the rival Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays righty Dylan Cease matched with eight Ks of his own.
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Schlittler, 25, eclipsed the 200-punchout barrier, joining Cease in that rare August air. However, Cease made some swing-and-miss history amid an 8-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
For the 19th consecutive start, the 30-year-old Cease piled up at least seven strikeouts. The last player to string together that many outings like that in a single season was Hall of Famer Randy Johnson in 2001, according to MLB.com.
Johnson won one of his five Cy Young Awards — and his four straight with the Arizona Diamondbacks — that season. The towering lefty also took home World Series MVP that year. His streak of games with seven-plus strikeouts ran to 20 games.
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Cease can tie Johnson during his next start for a 66-70 Blue Jays squad that’s scrapping for positioning in the wild-card hunt.
He went six innings and gave up the Mariners’ lone run Friday.
Both Schlittler and Cease made this year’s All-Star Game. Cease, who began his stay with the Blue Jays with an auspicious 12 K-spectacle back in March, got the starting nod for the Midsummer Classic.
Before that exhibition in July, Cease teased his second career no-hitter (his first came with the San Diego Padres in 2024). Later that month, he spun a complete game, one-hit shutout.
Schlittler has the edge in the ERA department at the moment and is the frontrunner for the Cy Young Award in the AL, but Cease trails only Milwaukee Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski for the major-league lead in strikeouts this season.
And his Ks don’t seem to be slowing their roll anytime soon.
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