Lester wouldn't rule out pitching Game 6 or 7
CLEVELAND — Jake Arrieta will start Game 6 of the World Series for the Chicago Cubs Tuesday night at Cleveland, and Kyle Hendricks will go in Game 7, if the Cubs can extend it.
Jon Lester, who started and won Game 5, would not rule himself out of coming out of the bullpen in Game 6 or 7.
“Hey, whatever we've got to do,” he said. “I mean, this time of year there's no barriers. There's no nothing. It's all hands on deck. I love our bullpen, love what these guys have done, but if there's a matchup in there that Joe (manager Maddon) likes, I'll be ready.”
Lester is 1-1 with 2 starts in the World Series.
Youth is served:
The Cubs faced an elimination game Sunday night in Game 5 of the World Series. That didn't stop manager Joe Maddon from going with a battery of pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. and catcher Willson Contreras, both of whom began the season at Class AAA Iowa.
“I have a lot of confidence in both guys,” Joe Maddon said. “At that moment I wasn't focused on that at all. I think you've seen CJ (Edwards) do some outstanding work. You've seen Willson really grow throughout the course of the season. I keep trying to make the point that these guys gaining this experience right now absolutely bodes well for the future, too.
“I think when you demonstrate confidence in these kids and they succeed and they come back the next year, they're a little bit better just for the experience itself.”
Contreras is scheduled to be the catcher in Game 6.
Stats and stuff:
Second baseman Javier Baez has 16 hits during the postseason. That ties him with Kenny Lofton (2003) for second most in a single postseason in Cubs history behind only Moises Alou, who had 19 hits in 2003, when the Cubs went seven games in the National League championship series.
Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman pitched a career-high 2⅔ innings in Game 5 to earn the save in the longest relief outing of his career. Chapman pitched 2⅓ innings on July 9 of this year while with the Yankees against the Indians.