ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale won the National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday night after being the league's first pitching triple crown winner since 2011.
In his first season with the Braves, Sale led the NL with 18 wins and 225 strikeouts, while his 2.38 ERA was the best among all MLB qualifiers. The 35-year-old Sale was 18-3 and an All-Star for the eighth time. He also won his first Gold Glove this year.
Sale became just the sixth pitcher in MLB history to win the triple crown during a Cy Young-winning season, joining Sandy Koufax, Steve Carlton, Dwight Gooden, Randy Johnson, Jake Peavy and Clayton Kershaw.
Sale received 26 of 30 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America that was completed before the playoffs. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler finished second, and hard-throwing Pittsburgh righty Paul Skenes was third only two days after being selected the NL Rookie of the Year.
Sale became the fifth Braves pitcher to win the Cy Young Award, joining Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Warren Spahn.
