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Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum is trying to win his second consecutive Cy Young Award.

By Tim Kurkjian, ESPN The Magazine

The National League Cy Young Award race is tight, and 2008 NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum still is slightly in the lead. The Cardinals' Chris Carpenter is a very close second, with teammate Adam Wainwright a very close third. The Diamondbacks' Dan Haren is a distant fourth.

This is basically a pick 'em situation between Lincecum and Carpenter, but you can't count out Wainwright because all three pitchers still have two starts to go.

Wainwright leads the league in wins, is in the top three in ERA and leads the league in innings pitched. So he makes a very good case for the award. Wainwright has done a fabulous job all year with his durability and he's always been really strong.

However, the more amazing story to me is Carpenter.

Carpenter is the only pitcher in baseball history to pitch 600 innings and win at least 50 games over a three-year period, then miss two full years due to injury and then come back and pitch. Not only has he come back to pitch, he's come back to pitch at a Cy Young level. Reds manager Dusty Baker told me halfway through the season that he thought Carpenter might be the best pitcher in the league. I think that was a good point to make at the time, and he still might be the best pitcher in the league now.

Carpenter leads the league in ERA today, because Lincecum got hit hard (five runs in four innings) in a loss to the Dodgers on Sunday. Lincecum still leads the league in strikeouts and is tied for the league lead in complete games. He also has more innings pitched than Carpenter.

Each guy has his own fan base pulling for him. People who love a great comeback naturally are pulling for Carpenter. Another group is pulling for Wainwright because he has been good for several years in different roles. Remember, he got the final out of the World Series a few years ago as a closer. Lincecum's story is amazing given his size. Honestly, this is the most compelling Cy Young race you will ever see.

Lincecum will be hurt a little by the fact that he has only 14 wins. The fewest wins by a starting pitcher in a Cy Young season, that is a full-season, is 16 by Brandon Webb in 2006. (Rick Sutcliffe also had 16 in the NL in 1984 when he won it with the Cubs, but he had already won four times earlier that season with Cleveland before being dealt to Chicago). So there is precedent for it, but Lincecum is going to have to have a strong finish if he's going to win his second one in a row.

Dan Haren's numbers are sensational. This is an unusual year in the Cy Young in that we truly have four quality candidates, including Haren, but he has struggled relatively down the stretch. Ultimately, that will keep him from winning. He was the leader at the All-Star break, but he hasn't had quite as good a second half as he did first.

This race is going to go down to the final day of the season, perhaps between all three of these guys. I'm not sure I've seen a closer race than the one we have right now.

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TOUCH 'EM ALL

Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.

For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.

Home Run Tracker
NAME	HR	OPP	SITUATION
Adrian Gonzalez, SD	39	McCutchen	Top 1: 1-0, 1 Out. 1 on.
Jason Bay, BOS	36	DiNardo	Top 3: 0-1, 1 Out. 2 on.
Derrek Lee, CHC	34	Looper	Top 2: 0-0, 2 Outs. 1 on.
Mark DeRosa, STL	22	Rodriguez	Top 3: 2-0, 2 Outs. None on.
Mike Cameron, MIL	21	Gorzelanny	Bot 4: 2-1, 1 Out. None on.
Garrett Jones, PIT	20	LeBlanc	Bot 1: 2-0, 2 Outs. None on.
Mike Cameron, MIL	20	Gorzelanny	Bot 2: 0-1, 1 Out. None on.
Mike Jacobs, KC	18	Wakefield	Bot 5: 0-0, 1 Out. 2 on.
Chipper Jones, ATL	17	Misch	Top 2: 0-0, 1 Out. 2 on.

The complete list of Monday's homers

ON DECK: TUESDAY'S BEST MATCHUPS

Phillies at Marlins, 4:10, 8:10 p.m. ET

The Marlins get two shots at the defending champs as Florida tries to remain relevant in the NL wild-card race. Josh Johnson, who starts the opener, is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA in two starts this season against the Phillies. Anibal Sanchez, who starts the nightcap, is 0-3 over his past five starts.

Twins at White Sox, 8:11 p.m. ET

The Twins are still gnawing at the Tigers' heels in the AL Central. Minnesota, 2½ back of Detroit, sends Jeff Manship to the mound for his fourth start of the year. One of his previous starts came earlier this month against the White Sox and he beat them, tossing five effective innings in a 4-3 win.

Yankees at Angels, 10:05 p.m. ET

Chad Gaudin has not been involved in a decision since Aug. 12, which also happened to be his first outing with the Yankees. His run of appearances without being involved in the decision stands at seven. Ervin Santana has not gotten much support lately; the Angels have scored more than three runs for him once in his past seven starts.

For the rest of Tuesday's schedule, click here.