Lester strikes out 14, Chicago Cubs win 3-2

Jon Lester aced it for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday.

Needing a long and strong performance from their starting pitcher, the Cubs got one from Lester in a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field.

Lester not only pitched like the ace the Cubs signed him last winter to be, he also served up a few, striking out 14, 1 shy of his career high.

More important, he went a season-high 8 innings to give a beat up and beleaguered bullpen a much-needed break. Lester gave up 5 hits and 2 runs while walking only one as he improved to 6-8 with a 3.26 ERA.

"I think we all know, especially as a group of starters, that there are certain games that stand out where, 'Yeah, I got to throw as deep as I can,'" Lester said. "I take the mindset every start I'm going to go 9 (innings). You obviously know in the back of your mind that you have to give your bullpen a breather one way or the other. You have to figure out a way, if you give up runs early or whatever, you got to eat it. You got to figure out a way to go as deep as you can.

"It was nice that Joe (manager Maddon) let me go out for the eighth, especially in a 1-run game. It was nice to finally pitch into the eighth and finish an eighth and feel strong at the end."

The 14 strikeouts were the most by a Cubs pitcher since Mark Prior fanned 16 Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 30, 2004 at Wrigley Field. Lester struck out six in a row from the end of the first inning through the second out in the third.

"That was his best," said manager Joe Maddon, whose team won two of three from the Rockies to improve to 53-47 for the season.

"That was his best performance all year. Stuff wise, I thought he had everything going on. He actually got up to 95 (mph), velocity wise. The cutter was sharp. The curve was sharp. He threw a couple sinkers, change-ups, everything was on. Everything was on, and that's why you saw the result today.

"We definitely needed that. He supplied it. That's what guys like Jon Lester do for a team. That's a perfect example."

The Cubs scored their runs on homers. Dexter Fowler, who has been much more engaged offensively in the second half, led off the bottom of the first with a blast to right-center, his 10th of the year. In the third, Anthony Rizzo hit a 2-run homer, a drive that hit the screen of the right-field foul pole with a northwest wind of 12 mph pushing it that way, but not too far.

"Yeah, it was nice to keep that fair, for sure," said Rizzo, who has 17 homers. "It turned out great for us."

Hector Rondon worked the ninth inning and earned his 13th save.