Zack Greinke wins NL Pitcher of the Month for August

Zack Greinke won all five of his starts in August and on Wednesday was rewarded by getting named the National League Pitcher of the Month, beating out fellow red-hot rotation mates Clayton Kershaw and Ricky Nolasco for the honor.

Greinke was 5-0 with a 1.23 ERA in August in five starts, with 30 strikeouts and eight walks in 36⅔ innings. It is the second monthly award of Greinke's career, and his first since April 2009 when he started out 5-0 with an 0.50 ERA for the Royals en route to the American League Cy Young Award.

He might have had even better numbers, as Greinke came within one out of a complete game shutout in his final start of the month, against the Cubs. Greinke's runs allowed for the month swelled from three all the way to five.

Kershaw won the Pitcher of the Month award in July with a 4-1 record and a 1.34 ERA in six starts. He followed that up with a 1.01 ERA, 36 strikeouts and 11 walks in six starts in August, but somehow lost two games.

The last time the Dodgers won the Pitcher of the Month Award in consecutive months was 1975, when Burt Hooton won the award in August and September.

Greinke wasn't the only Dodgers pitcher with five wins in August. Ricky Nolasco was 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA in six starts, with 35 strikeouts and six walks in 38⅓ innings, giving the Dodgers three pitchers in the top five in MLB in ERA for the month.

The Dodgers led the majors with a 2.07 ERA in August, their fifth-lowest ERA in a single month since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.

On the season Greinke is 14-3 with a 2.78 ERA in 23 starts, with 119 strikeouts and 41 walks in 148⅔ innings. He has won his last six starts and is 11-1 with a 2.08 ERA in his last 14 starts. His next start is Saturday against the Reds in Cincinnati.