Chicago Cubs pitcher Jon Lester gave his Cy Young Award chances a big boost on Sunday night with a masterful performance against the St. Louis Cardinals, but in nabbing the victory he did something that no other pitcher has ever done in the entire history of the team.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Lester is the first pitcher in Cubs history to give up one or fewer runs in eight consecutive starts. Lester’s streak, which dates back to August 17 against the Milwaukee Brewers, has seen him yield just four total earned runs and he’s walked just 10 batters over that stretch.
During that stretch, Lester has earned victories in seven of those games. The run has allowed him to run his record to 19-4 on the season and has given him a 2.28 ERA on the season.
The start was Lester’s 20th this season in which he’s given up one or fewer earned runs. According to Christopher Kamka of Comcast SportsNet Chicago, that is also a record, tying the 20 such starts that Jake Arrieta had a season ago for the Cubs.
Lester will get one more start during the regular season, meaning that he not only has a chance to extend both of those records but will also have a chance to earn his 20th win of the season, a milestone that he has never achieved in his big-league career.
If Lester is able to win his 20th game of the season when he faces the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night, he will become just the fifth left-handed pitcher in team history to hit the milestone and the first since Dick Ellsworth won 22 games for the Cubs in the 1963 season.
