Chicago Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish became the first Japanese pitcher to lead a major league in wins after his closest competitor in the National League dropped out of contention on Saturday.
Darvish collected his eighth win of the season on Friday after tossing seven shutout innings in the Cubs' 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Zach Davies of the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried are set to finish the regular season with seven wins.
Darvish is 8-3 with 93 strikeouts and a 2.01 ERA over 12 games in his third season with the Cubs, who clinched their first NL Central title in three years after the second-place St. Louis Cardinals fell 3-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier Saturday.