Lester throws complete game in Cubs' win over Giants
Send a link to a friend
[May 24, 2017]
CHICAGO -- Jon Lester started
strong Tuesday night, and with the exception of one inning, kept
getting better in a complete game.
The Chicago Cubs left-hander allowed one run and three hits in the
fifth inning but otherwise kept the San Francisco Giants in check in
a 4-1 victory.
"It's a hard thing to do now, and there's always that gratification
to go out there and finish it," Lester said.
He shrugged off a 65-minute rain delay before the game and struck
out the side in the opening inning. Lester then allowed just four
hits while striking out a season-high 10 in his first complete game
this season. He didn't issue a walk.
"That's just classic stuff," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He just
kept getting better."
Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward and Anthony Rizzo provided offensive
punch with home runs off Giants starter Johnny Cueto as the Cubs
(23-21) won for the second time in three games.
Cueto had given up just eight homers in nine starts entering
Tuesday.
"To hit three home runs against a guy like Cueto, that's pretty
impressive stuff," Maddon said.
The victory was the second straight for Lester (3-2), who struck out
two in the ninth and is now 5-1 lifetime against San Francisco.
Cueto (4-4) allowed four runs and five hits, walked one and struck
out eight in a six innings. He was slightly affected by blisters on
two pitching fingers.
"That's not an excuse," he said through a translator. "I flat out
had a bad game today."
The Giants (20-27) are still 8-3 in their past 11 games.
Lester, whose longest previous outings this season were two
seven-inning starts, threw 99 pitches, 70 for strikes. He is now
13-2 at Wrigley Field since the start of last season and has a
12-game home winning streak.
He was the first Cubs pitcher with fewer than 100 pitches in a
complete game since Carlos Zambrano on Sept. 29, 2009.
"He threw a lot more changeups than I've ever seen when facing him,"
Giants catcher Buster Posey said. "He's shown it in the past, but
tonight he had command of it."
The complete game was the 15th of Lester's career. His last was
Sept. 2, 2016, a 2-1 victory also over San Francisco.
[to top of second column] |
Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester (34) delivers a pitch during the
first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field.
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Schwarber's seventh homer of the season opened the
scoring in the first inning. The bases-empty homer to right came on
a full-count pitch and landed outside the park on Sheffield Avenue
for the first ball out of the park in that direction in Maddon's
tenure.
"It got small fast," Maddon said.
Heyward made it 2-0 with his fourth home run with one out in the
second, sending a first-pitch shot into the right field basket.
Rizzo slugged a two-run, first-pitch homer in the fourth for a 4-0
lead. His ninth homer of the season brought in Kris Bryant, who had
reached on a leadoff single.
Lester gave up a second-inning hit when Schwarber missed on a diving
try on Justin Ruggiano's long fly to left. He allowed three more
hits in a one-run Giants fifth as Brandon Crawford doubled home
Posey from second to trim the deficit to 4-1.
NOTES: The Giants, who hit three solo home runs on Monday, have hit
18 consecutive solo homers. ... Giants RHP Mark Melancon has
successfully converted nine of 11 save opportunities, including his
last four. ... Rehabbing Giants INF Conor Gillespie (back spasms) is
2-for-13 in four games with Triple-A Sacramento. INF Aaron Hill
(right forearm strain) is 2-for-9 with two runs scored in three
games with the River Cats. ... The Giants sent LHP Matt Moore (2-4,
5.37 ERA) against Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (3-2, 3.35 ERA) in
Wednesday's game. ... Chicago 3B Kris Bryant and 1B Anthony Rizzo
each have had nine career multi-homer games before their 26th
birthdays, third in franchise history behind Ron Santo and Sammy
Sosa (10 each). ... The Cubs are 8-0 this season when they hit three
or more home runs. ... Chicago 2B Ben Zobrist's third-inning single
extended his on-base streak to 21 games dating to April 28. His
longest is a 23-game run in 2011. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.
|