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 But, with the Chicago Cubs in the midst of a rough stretch and
struggling with an overworked bullpen, the left-hander adjusted his
focus before his start Wednesday to also consider what the team
needed.
"There are certain games that stand out where I have to throw as
deep as I can," he said. "I take the mindset every start I'm gonna
throw nine (innings), but you obviously know in the back of your
mind that you have to give your bullpen a breather."
Lester (6-8) struck out a season-high 14 and pitched eight strong
innings to lead the Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
He allowed two runs, five hits and one walk in his longest outing
this season.
It was his third double-digit strikeout effort of the season and the
23rd of his career. He also became the first Cubs left-hander to
strike out 13 or more in a game since at least 1914. The 14
strikeouts were the most by a Cub since right-hander Mark Prior had
16 against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 30, 2004.
"That was his best performance all year," Chicago manager Joe Maddon
said. "I thought stuff-wise he had everything going on. We
definitely need that (and) he supplied it. That's what guys like Jon
Lester do for a team. It's a perfect example. We had some more
missed opportunities and made a couple of mistakes on the bases, but
he was able to right us. He righted the ship."
First baseman Anthony Rizzo and center fielder Dexter Fowler each
had a home run to account for the Cubs' offense.
Right fielder Carlos Gonzalez, a subject of trade talks, hit his
21st home run and eighth in his last seven games for the Rockies.
Jose Reyes, in his debut with Colorado, went 1-for-3 with a walk.
"He's in a good place. He's still rolling, and we've seen him before
when he's done this," manager Walt Weiss said. "It's fun to watch.
He's locked in."
The Cubs jumped on top 1-0 as Fowler led off the first with his home
run.
The lead grew to 3-0 in the third on a two-run shot by Rizzo, the
slugger's 17th homer of the season and first since July 7. Rizzo
turned on an inside fastball from Colorado starter Eddie Butler
(3-7) and managed to keep the high drive fair as it bounced off the
screen on the foul pole down the right-field line.
Lester, thanks to a thrown-out base stealer in the first inning,
faced the minimum through the first three innings. He struck out
seven.
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The Rockies, though, were able to push across a run in the fourth.
Charlie Blackmon led off with a single, stole second and third (as
part of a double steal with Reyes) and scored on a sacrifice fly by
third baseman Nolan Arenado to trim the deficit to 3-1.
Reyes advanced to third as Blackmon scored, but Lester struck out
Gonzalez swinging and second baseman DJ LeMahieu looking to end the
threat.
The Rockies made it 3-2 in the seventh when Gonzalez stroked a
line-drive solo homer to center on a 1-1 fastball by Lester.
The Rockies had a runner on second with two out in the eighth, but
Lester got Blackmon to fly out to end the inning.
"It was nice that Joe let me go back out there for the eighth,"
Lester said. "It was nice to pitch into the eighth and finish the
eighth."
NOTES: The Cubs placed RHP Neil Ramirez on the 15-day disabled list
with left abdominal soreness and optioned RHP Dallas Beeler, who
allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings during Tuesday's start, to
Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs recalled RHP Yoervis Medina and selected the
contract of RHP Ben Rowen from Iowa to fill those roster spots. ...
SS Jose Reyes has batted leadoff nearly all of his career, but
Rockies manager Walt Weiss decided to keep CF Charlie Blackmon in
that role. Reyes batted second, and 2B DJ LeMahieu moved to the
fifth spot. ... Cubs CF Dexter Fowler's leadoff homer was the 11th
of his career and his second this season.
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