Bauer, Bassitt are Sept. Pitchers of Month

Trevor Bauer and Chris Bassitt pitched lights-out baseball when their teams needed it the most, and on Monday, their dominant Septembers resulted in them being named the American and National League Pitchers of the Month, respectively, for September.

Bauer jumped to the front of the National League Cy Young Award race with a brilliant final month for the Reds, who clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2013 as the NL's No. 7 seed.

The 29-year-old right-hander led the NL with a 1.29 ERA in September and tied for second with 46 strikeouts, capping his month with an eight-inning, one-run, 12-strikeout gem on three days' rest to beat the Brewers in his final start. Bauer won the 2020 NL ERA title at 1.73 and finished second to Jacob deGrom with 100 strikeouts.

"Performing during that time is important to me, for sure, because that was an important stretch for us," Bauer said when asked about the possibility of winning NL Pitcher of the Month after helping pitch the Reds into the playoffs. "We wouldn't be here if not for performing well in that stretch. I guess if I get an award for it, that's great. That's not really where my head's been -- it's been on the actual performance and trying to win games for the team."

Bassitt was the hottest pitcher in baseball down the stretch, leading the Majors with a 0.34 ERA in September -- Gerrit Cole was next-closest at an even 1.00 -- as the A's ran away with the American League West title and clinched the No. 2 seed in the AL playoff bracket.

The 31-year-old righty went 3-0 and didn't allow more than one run in any of his four starts, which included three scoreless efforts. Bassitt's September lowered his ERA to 2.29 for the season.

These are the first career Pitcher of the Month Awards for both Bauer and Bassitt.