Cubs' Lester on a roll
Pitcher Jon Lester is on a nice roll for the Cubs.
He worked 7 innings Friday and got the victory as the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 at Wrigley Field. Lester improved to 7-8 with his third straight win and lowered his ERA from 3.26 to 3.22. He gave up 6 hits and 2 runs.
More impressive, Lester has worked at least 7 innings in each of his 7 starts since July 1. He started Monday's rained-out game at Pittsburgh, but was able to come back on short rest after working 1⅔ innings that were washed out. In his previous start that counted, he struck out 14 Colorado Rockies. He was effective Friday even though he struck out only 3.
"I really didn't have an off-speed pitch today," he said. "Just didn't have a good feel for my curveball. This really isn't a changeup team (the Giants). They stay on the changeup pretty well. We had to battle. We had to grind through it. We got some quick outs when we needed to. We had a couple long innings, but I was able to locate the heater effectively enough to get through 7. A little bit of a grind, but at the end of the day, a win's a win."
Lester has played on world-championship teams in Boston, but he said he likes what he sees with the Cubs.
"Just the youth," he said. "Guys have energy. Guys have excitement to be in this position. I think sometimes you can get complacent by doing it every single year, being with the same guys, going through the motions of August and September. For a group of guys that have never done it, we've got that excitement every single day, and we've got a chance. Once you get there, it's just a matter of who's the hottest team, not who's the best team.
"You get some good pitching and some timely hitting, and all of a sudden you look up and you're in the World Series."
Montero back; Szczur sent down:
The Cubs on Friday activated catcher Miguel Montero off the disabled list and optioned outfielder Matt Szczur to Class AAA Iowa.
Montero went on the DL, effective July 12, with a sprained left thumb. He hit a grand slam Thursday in a minor-league rehab game for Class AA Tennessee.
With Montero back, the Cubs again have three catchers on the roster, including Kyle Schwarber and David Ross. However, the plan is to keep Schwarber's hot bat in the lineup, either at catcher or in left field.
This and that:
The Cubs have won eight of their last nine games and are at least 12 games over .500 (60-48) for the first time since the end of the 2008 season (97-64) ... Hector Rondon earned his 18th save, working 1⅔ innings to get his first career save of more than 1 inning ... Kris Bryant has hit safely in five straight games (5-for-16).