Lester enjoying Wrigley as Cubs beat Reds 6-1
Wrigley Field has been very, very good to Chicago Cubs starting pitchers.
It was lefty Jon Lester's turn Tuesday night to enjoy the Friendly Confines.
Lester worked 7 innings and gave up 6 hits and 1 run as the Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 6-1 to improve to 96-55. The Cubs got a scare in the sixth when Joey Votto led off with a comebacker that caught Lester on the right wrist. After getting a visit by the athletic trainer, Lester stayed in the game.
“It's my right hand; I don't need it,” Lester said. “It's a long way from the heart.”
All 14 of Lester's home starts this year have been quality starts, and he has posted a 1.86 ERA at Wrigley Field. Teammate Kyle Hendricks has a 1.32 home ERA, and Jason Hammel sits at 1.84 at Wrigley Field.
For the season, Lester upped his record to 18-4 and lowered his ERA from 2.40 to 2.36.
“You obviously want to pitch well at home,” he said. “You get used to the mound. You throw sides on the same mounds, long-toss and all that stuff. You work out here. When you're able to go out in front of the home crowd and throw well, that's obviously a big plus.
“It's a good mound. It's a solid mound. Home plate seems fairly close to you. It's a good backdrop, and obviously the fans are into it every night, which helps us.”
Old assumptions die hard, and the notion of pitchers having success at Wrigley can be a difficult one to grasp.
“From a distance, and I even had some buddies in from Lafayette, some of my baseball buddies, and they were here when the wind was blowing out for those two days and, ‘Oh, my God, I'd love to hit here,' ” related Cubs manager Joe Maddon. “I said, ‘Hey, it's not always like this.'
“I think the deceptive part is the numbers on the wall here, (368) in the gap, although 350 down the line is impressive. I think the gap numbers are the ones that really fool people, because when the wind is blowing in, it definitely is more of a pitcher's yard, physically and psychologically.”
Lester retired the first six batters he faced before hitting Tyler Holt leading off the third. One out later, pitcher Josh Smith singled, but Lester worked out of it.
Lester helped himself as the Cubs opened the scoring in the second. David Ross singled with two outs, and Lester doubled to the gap in right-center to score Ross.
The Cubs scored 4 in the fourth, with Dexter Fowler hitting an RBI single and Kris Bryant following with a bloop double to right to score another. Anthony Rizzo capped the inning with a 2-run single.
Rizzo added an RBI single in the sixth, giving him 104 RBI.
Rizzo is an MVP candidate along with Bryant. Lester and Hendricks could be neck-and-neck for the Cy Young.
Lester seems to be the favorite to start Game 1 of the playoffs, but he said he's not worried about that or the Cy Young.
“I don't expect to do anything, I'm along for the ride,” he said. “If Joe comes up to me and tells me when I'm pitching, I'll prepare just like I have the rest of the season.
“We have a really, really good staff. If I'm the guy, it will definitely be a huge honor, especially with the staff we have. If I'm not the guy, tell me when I'm going.
“Obviously, Kyle has had an unbelievable year. If I had vote, he'd be my vote just because I get to see him every day … He's my guy.”