Cubs Lester has been lights out in postseason
How good has Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester been this postseason?
He's been really good. He's been good enough to be called the ace of the starting rotation.
During the regular season, Lester went 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA, making him one of the leading candidates for the Cy Young Award. In three playoff starts this October - one in the National League division series and two in the championship series - Lester is 2-0 with an 0.86 ERA and a WHIP of 0.76. In 21 innings, he has given up 14 hits and 2 runs while walking two and striking out 14. Lester's win Thursday in Game 5 of the NLCS made him 3-0 lifetime in Game 5 starts. He has a 1.80 ERA in those starts, and the first 2 gave his team a 3-2 lead in series they eventually won in six games.
The first was the 2013 American League championship series with Boston against Detroit, and the second was 11 days later in the World Series against the Cardinals. Like Thursday, those starts were on the road.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, among pitchers with multiple Game 5 starts in a series tied at 2-2 (best of seven only), Lester is the only pitcher in major-league history to go 3-0.
Livan Hernandez, Jerry Reuss and Justin Verlander are all 2-0 in 2 starts in that scenario, and David Wells is 2-0 in 3 starts.
Going to bat for his guy:
Cubs manager Joe Maddon had to intervene with home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez on behalf of catcher Willson Contreras, who may have been a little too animated for Marquez's liking at the end of Thursday's 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS.
"There was just a little bit of controversy, yeah, regarding Willson," Maddon said. "Willson tends to be temperamental. And again, we talk about you don't want to coach the aggressiveness out of somebody, or the instinct.
"With him, you just have to continue to speak to him because he's passionate. He's passionate about everything he does. He's passionate about his morning cup of coffee. This guy's just all about it.
"So that's all that was. I had a nice conversation (with Marquez). Everything was cool."
Stats and stuff:
Addison Russell homered for the second straight game Thursday. He is the ninth player in Cubs history to homer in two or more consecutive postseason games.
The record is three, set in 2003 by Alex Gonzalez and matched last year by Kyle Schwarber.
Kris Bryant recorded his 10th career postseason extra-base hit Thursday, extending his Cubs record, which he set in Game 1.
The Cubs are batting .313 with 17 RBI against the Dodgers bullpen in the NLCS, compared with .169 and 7 RBI against the starting pitchers. That is according to ESPN Stats and Info.