Ok, Clayton Kershaw. You Win.

Time to swallow some humble pie.  Clayton Kershaw made the NL Cy Young award race much, much easier for voters last night.  Flat out, Kershaw deserves the Cy Young award over (blog hero) Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Ian Kennedy, or any other pitcher in contention in the NL this year.  At 23 Kershaw has tallied a 20-5 record on a team that is not in playoff contention.  Well done.  Impressive. Deserving.

Kershaw's stats as of right now...
Wins -- 20, tied for first with Arizona's Ian Kennedy
ERA -- 2.27, ahead of Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (2.31) and Cliff Lee (2.38)
Strikeouts -- 242, ahead of Lee (232), Lincecum and Roy Halladay (both with 217)

Cliff Lee could have made it more interesting last night, as he was pitching against the Nationals at Citizen's Bank Park, and he had a shot to up his chances for the Cy Young.  Only he lost the game, giving up an early homerun to rookie Danny Espinosa (that kid is good) who at that point was 5 for 9 against Lee this season.  The next time Danny was up he doubled off of him.  Incredible stuff.

The Phillies lost the game, which was their fourth loss in a row at home.  It's not funny, it's not fun.  That is the first time it has happened all season, and we Phillies fans who are spoiled don't enjoy a slump.  We're used to our team winning, not losing--especially at home. It's be nice to go into October on an upward slope.  Here's hoping they get healthy--and turn things around.