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Chicago Cubs' Lester not surprised NLDS moving on to Game 5

It's come down to this:

The Chicago Cubs lost to Washington on Wednesday at Wrigley Field, setting up Game 5 Thursday night at Nationals Park.

Jon Lester is not surprised.

"I think both sides - if that side's honest over there - thought this would be a good series," Lester said after the Cubs fell to Stephen Strasburg and the Nats 5-0 in Game 4 of the National League division series. "Nobody thought it was going to be a three-and-done type series. It's two heavyweights going at it, and we're going to the last round.

"We're going to figure it out, and we have Game 5. It should be exciting TV and it should exciting in our clubhouse and their clubhouse. They get to go home, so hopefully we play a good baseball game and we come out on top."

Even though he was a bit surprised, Lester did his part to help the Cubs end the series on a rainy, raw afternoon and early evening on the North Side.

Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta kept the Cubs in the game early, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, but 5 walks swelled his pitch count to 90 after 4 innings.

In the fifth, Cubs manager Joe Maddon called on Lester, who started Game 2 of the NLDS on Saturday and allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings while throwing 86 pitches.

"I just do what I'm told," Lester said. "I asked Monday night if they wanted me in the pen on Tuesday and we got rained out. They came to me yesterday and said you're in there tomorrow. I don't ask questions, and I don't really read into things. They wanted me down there and Joe called my name.

"Try to go out there and do your job. I was able to keep us in it there until the end."

Making the fourth postseason relief appearance of his career, Lester kept the Nationals' lead at 1-0 while retiring the first 10 hitters he faced.

Lester pitched 3⅔ innings total and allowed 1 run, which scored on Michael Taylors's grand slam off Carl Edwards in the eighth.

"When you come out of the bullpen, you have to throw everything from the beginning," Lester said. "We did that. We were able to keep some guys off balance. Obviously, with the wind blowing in, I'm definitely not going to walk guys and given them free passes.

"We had some 3-2 counts, so make them hit the ball in the air. That's what they want to do and hopefully they don't hit it at the scoreboard and you've got a chance for these guys to catch it."

Lester relieved Kyle Hendricks in Game 7 of the World Series last year, and Maddon didn't hesitate to call on the 33-year-old lefty again Wednesday.

"We didn't know exactly where Jake was going to be tonight, so we talked about that in advance," Maddon said. "Now, when that showed up, if this score was like we're losing 4-0, (Lester) would not have pitched tonight. It would have been (Mike) Montgomery and the rest of the bullpen."

Maddon said Jose Quintana would back up Hendricks in Game 5 like Lester did with Arrieta in Game 4.

The Cubs were down 3-1 to Cleveland last year before winning three in a row and capturing the World Series.

With much of the same core now heading to Washington for Game 5 of the NLDS, the experience can only help.

"I don't really think anybody likes having their backs against the wall," Lester said. "But I think that's our personality in this clubhouse. We have a bunch of grinders. Even the guys you consider superstars, they're still grinders.

"They grind out at-bats, grind out pitches and so forth and so on. Nobody ever likes to have their back against the wall, nobody ever likes playing Game 5 or Game 7, but we're in that situation.

"We're going to show up tomorrow and we're going to be prepared. At the end of the day, that's all you can really do. We'll be prepared."

John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.comChicago Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) acknowledges the roar of the crowd as he leaves the game in the eighth inning during Game 4 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Ill. on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. Lester pitched in relief. MANDATORY CREDIT, MAGS OUT,(AP photo / Daily Herald, John Starks )
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