Keuchel, Encarnacion cap dominant months with August awards

Vying for the first Cy Young Award of his career, Houston Astros left-hander Dallas Keuchel was named the American League's Pitcher of the Month on Wednesday for the third time this season.

Keuchel, who received the honor in both April and May, was equally impressive on the mound in August, crafting a 1.94 ERA with a 5.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over six starts while allowing just two home runs in 41 2/3 innings.

Keuchel, an All-Star for the first time this season, entered some exclusive company when he landed his third Pitcher of the Month award, joining Jake Peavy (2007) and Johan Santana (2004) as the only pitchers to accomplish the feat in the last 11 years. Both pitchers received the Cy Young in their respective leagues those years.

Keuchel's case for the AL Cy Young award this season remains compelling, too. Only Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox has accrued more wins above replacement than Keuchel, who also ranks second among qualified starters in ERA (2.24) and third in fielding independent pitching (2.68).

Edwin Encarnacion, meanwhile, similarly made history when he received the AL's Player of the Month award Wednesday, becoming just the fourth player in Toronto Blue Jays history to land the honor multiple times. The 32-year-old hit .407/.460/.919 with 11 home runs in 23 games in August, recording a hit in every game this month before his hitting streak was snapped Tuesday at 26 games.

After enjoying comparable success at the dish in recent weeks, Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano was named the AL's Rookie of the Month, hitting .278/.377/.629 with nine homers in August while finishing ninth in the league with a 1.39 win probability added.