AL Cy Young Award is Tarik Skubal's to lose after duds from Garrett Crochet, Nathan Eovaldi

Eovaldi lasted five innings in what was easily his worst performance of the season, raising his ERA to 1.71. While that's still an incredibly low number, the rest of Eovaldi's stats don't match up with the top two names in this race. 

Meanwhile, Crochet had an opportunity on Monday to close the gap between him and Skubal in the Red Sox's series opener with the Houston Astros. Instead, in a fashion similar to Eovaldi, Crochet folded early on. 

The 26-year-old went four innings while allowing five runs and seven hits en route to a 7-6 loss. Crochet's strikeout total is still on pace with the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, but his ERA now sits at 2.48 compared to Skubal's 2.35.

With low ERAs essentially the only thing either Eovaldi or Crochet had over Skubal, he has gained an edge in this year's AL Cy Young battle. The 2024 Triple Crown winner is pacing the league in WAR at 5.6 in what may be an even more dominant campaign than his superb 2024 season. 

That said, Skubal surrendered four runs and six hits in 4.2 innings in his most recent outing against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 8, but one below-average showing wasn't enough to mitigate his incredible numbers. 

Even after his dud versus L.A., Skubal leads the AL in ERA, ERA+ (177), FIP (2.12), WHIP (0.86) and SO/BB (8.9). The 28-year-old even has a complete-game shutout to his name this year.

In what was recently a competitive race, Eovaldi and Crochet may have squandered their best chance at keeping Skubal from another Cy Young. 

As long as he stays healthy and continues dealing at his current pace, Skubal should become the first pitcher in the AL to win the award in back-to-back seasons since Pedro Martinez in 1999 and 2000.