Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday, capping a satisfying comeback from shoulder surgery that jeopardized his career only a few years ago. After going 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA, Carpenter received 19 of 32 first-place votes and finished with 132 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He beat out Florida lefty Dontrelle Willis, becoming the first Cardinals pitcher to claim the honor since Bob Gibson in 1970. Willis, who was 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA, was listed first on 11 ballots, second on 18 and third on three for 112 points. Seven-time winner Roger Clemens got the other two first-place votes and came in a distant third at age 43. The Rocket led the majors with a 1.87 ERA, but a lack of run support from his NL champion Houston Astros limited Clemens to a 13-8 record, which surely cost him votes. Voting for all BBWAA awards is conducted at the end of the regular season and excludes the playoffs, when Carpenter went 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in three starts. But St. Louis was eliminated by the Astros in the NL championship series.