ESPN

We know baseball's regular season is a marathon, and one win in April equals one win in September. But when your team is coming to the finish line after running its metaphorical 26 miles, it has to feel good to have someone who can kick the guy behind you in the shins.

Justin Verlander was that guy Tuesday, kicking the Twins and their playoff hopes squarely where it hurts, but does one clutch performance when the Tigers needed it most put him in the thick of the AL Cy Young race?

With his team in danger of waking up this morning tied for first in the AL Central, Verlander beat the Twins and improved to 18-9 with a 3.45 ERA this season. CC Sabathia has 19 wins, Felix Hernandez has the same number of wins and a better ERA and Zack Greinke has fewer wins but the best ERA of all. But Verlander had the spotlight Tuesday night.

“

Justin for Cy Young. Coming through in a pennant race is normally significant. Zach and Felix aren't pitching for much at this point.

” -- GNewsomII

“

You should really go see Greinke pitch. If you haven't yet, it's really something. Plus it's cool that the dude is just a total space cadet.

” -- michissouri10

• Vote: Who gets your support for Cy Young and MVP in each league?

Sure, Zack Greinke isn't going to get to 20 wins. But the guy made a late September game against the Red Sox meaningful -- for the Royals. That's downright superhuman. Greinke's six shutout innings earned him win No. 15. Only 23 percent of SportsNation thought he had the Cy Young wrapped up before that effort, but another 34 percent -- more than enough to push him over the top -- thought last night clinched it.

When it comes to MVP, Albert Pujols' grip on the award makes "Mad Men" envious, but the AL race still has some intrigue. Most people seem to think it's down to Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter, but SportsNation blogger brianRuberti -- a Yankees fan, no less -- has Jeter fifth, Mauer second and another time at the top of his ballot.

• "If Miguel Cabrera wasn't in that lineup every night, do you thing that Minnesota would only be 2 games back? Try being 5 games up instead. He does it all in run production, and having a .994 fielding percentage doesn't hurt either." -- read the full post.

Darrell (Tennessee)

Please tell me that my Mariners King Felix will win the Cy Young. I'm tired of hearing about CC cause he plays in New York, this is a two horse race between Felix and Grienke.

Rob Neyer

You're not hearing about CC because he plays in New York. Well, maybe a little bit. But w/r/t to the Cy Young, you're hearing about him mostly because he's got a shot at winning 20 games; in fact he's the only pitcher who's got a shot at winning 20 games. Voters have always liked 20-game winners, and some of them still do. Full transcript

Nora (St. Louis)

Carpenter has given up 4 or more runs in a start only once. Lincecum has done that five times. I know Lincecum strikes everyone out, but Carp's only really had the one bad start. He's been so good so consistently.

Buster Olney

Nora: And Carpenter has made fewer starts, too, because of that early-season injury. But believe me, I'm not saying there is a clear-cut choice... If Carpenter throws well in his last couple of outings, and Lincecum has another stinker, I think Carpenter will win. If Lincecum and Carpenter labor the next two times out and Wainwright throws well and finishes with 20 wins, I think that'll really help Wainwright's chances. Total toss-up right now. Full transcript

Zack Greinke has the ERA. CC Sabathia has the wins. Is Felix Hernandez the pitcher to forge a compromise and bring together voters on either end of the Cy Young voting spectrum? Maybe. Have we been watching too much C-SPAN? Absolutely.

Greinke pitched five shutout innings Thursday afternoon in a game with playoff implications (albeit not for his team) and has emerged as a substantial favorite in most SportsNation votes since midseason. But we all know those curmudgeonly official voters love their wins, and Greinke had the same number as Braden Looper entering the day. Hernandez has more wins, almost the same strikeouts per nine innings and the second-best ERA in the AL.

Eric Young and Buster Olney debate the case below, but what's your vote?

• Votes: Mark your ballot for Cy Young and MVP in both leagues

• MLB Awards: Pick your winners for AL/ NL Cy Young and AL/NL MVP.

Tim Lincecum's gem against the Rockies Monday night may yet make a race out of the NL wild card, the lone prospect for any sort of September drama in the standings. But if the Giants ace eventually captures his second consecutive Cy Young, Monday's line -- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 11 K -- may go down as the clincher.

Lincecum has been out in front of the SportsNation voting most of the season. He dominated the midseason Cy Young rankings and had a 46-percent lead on his closest competition, Chris Carpenter, as recently as two weeks ago. But between Lincecum's bad back and Carpenter's amazing second half, the gap had closed to 20 percent last week.

• Your Power Rankings: How many of the top five teams are in the American League?
• Chats: Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, 11 a.m. ET | SweetSpot blogger Rob Neyer, 12 p.m. ET

Ryan (Detroit)

What would it take for Verlander to win the Cy Young?

Peter Gammons

I think he'd have to reel off dominant starts from here until the end of the season. As of now Zack Greinke's ERA, quality starts and strikeouts make him very difficult to beat. But Verlander, Felix Hernandez and CC Sabathia are right in the mix. Full transcript

We're referencing a question from a SportsNation chatter who referenced a SportsNation poll in asking a question of Joe Morgan. How meta narcissistic of us.

In Tuesday's chat, Morgan brought up the example of Steve Carlton in talking about a pitcher from a losing team (i.e. Zack Greinke) winning the Cy Young. But how about the award's namesake? Young didn't play for a pennant winner until 1903, 13 years after he broke in.

Richard (MO)

Sportsnation says they'd vote Zack Greinke for the A.L. Cy Young. What are your thoughts on this considering his 13-8 record?

Joe Morgan

I definitely think Greinke should be considered because he has pitched well. When you're looking at these awards, it doesn't say the Cy Young should be the best pitcher on a winning team, it's the best pitcher. It simply says that, the best pitcher in the league. Zack Greinke is definitely in that category. We still have a month to go to decide if he's No. 1, 2, whatever. If CC Sabathia wins four more starts, pitching for the Yankees and that pressure, he'll probably win it. But remember Greinke doesn't have as good a team behind him. Steve Carlton won it, and his team only won 50 games or something. It's happened before. Full transcript

James (NY)

What does CC have to do to lock up the CY? 20 wins and a little lower ERA?

Rob Neyer

He might not even need 20, but if he gets there he'll be tough to beat unless one of the guys with significantly lower ERA's wins 18. Full transcript

The Red Sox are in the midst of their most dominant stretch against the Yankees since the year the Titanic hit an iceberg, but a lot of fans get a sinking feeling when those two teams dominate the discussion. We'll get to the rival empires in a bit, but there were other interesting developments on the diamond Wednesday night.

• Twins 6, A's 3: Two more hits for Joe Mauer raises his average to .415. SportsNation blogger JSchnootz gives the catcher credit as one of the emerging names capable of carrying the sport out of the steroids era.
• Tigers 2, White Sox 1: Sadly, no memorable rant from Ozzie Guillen, but Justin Verlander makes another move toward the Cy Young race. Count on Scott Boras using this as evidence that high-profile picks sometimes live up to the hype.
• Chat today at 12 p.m. ET: SweetSpot blogger Rob Neyer takes your questions