SEATTLE — The distinction between the Cubs on May 1 and April 1 was summed up in what occurred after an eerily comparable begin.
On the primary defensive play of the sport in each instances, the Cubs made an error. But this time, Jon Lester retired the following three batters and left the runner at second.
The Cubs responded with a six-run second that Javy Baez opened with a homer towards the Mariners’ finest pitcher on the best way to an 11-Zero victory and two-game sweep.
And similar to that, a six-error loss a month in the past in Atlanta and the six-game shedding streak it helped maintain is a long-faded reminiscence because the Cubs journey a 13-Four surge into Friday’s early-season showdown towards the first-place Cardinals.
Jon Lester pitched seven scoreless innings Thursday, and Willson Contreras (left) and Anthony Rizzo (proper) every homered within the 11-Zero victory over the Mariners.
“We just kind of got past that,” mentioned Lester (2-1), who pitched seven scoreless innings towards his hometown Mariners in his second begin again from a hamstring damage.
“The big thing that people don’t realize is that we got home; since we got home we’ve been playing good baseball,” mentioned Lester, whose solely hit allowed Wednesday was a bloop single within the second inning. “Nobody’s making excuses about it, but you start out the season on a [three-city] road trip like we did and it an be tough.”
Since shedding these three highway collection in the beginning of the season at Texas, Atlanta and Milwaukee, the Cubs haven’t misplaced a collection. They’ve received 4 consecutive video games and 5 straight collection as they take Thursday off forward of a 10-game homestand.
“It just kind of got our confidence back and got us going,” Lester mentioned of their lengthy delayed begin to the house season. “We’ve been playing good baseball since, and hopefully we’ll be able to do that going forward.”
The method they’re dealing with the highway lately — profitable seven of eight away from Wrigley Field — it may not matter.
While the Cubs’ lineup has been productive from the beginning, the pitching has been the important thing in the course of the turnaround.
Even with Lester on the shelf for a lot of the roll the Cubs are on, the pitching employees has a collective 2.35 ERA and has received 14 of 19 video games since he took the mound for the April eight dwelling opener.
The Cubs have the very best crew ERA within the majors in that span by practically a full level.
“The pitching’s really the biggest difference,” supervisor Joe Maddon mentioned. And it’s sustainable. It’s completely sustainable.”
Lester’s ERA dropped to 1.73 with the eight-strikeout efficiency during which he retired the ultimate 12 batters he confronted after his solely stroll.
“That’s his career. That’s him,” teammate Jason Heyward mentioned of the $155 million left-hander who exhibits no indicators of slowing down into the fifth yr of his six-year Cubs contract.
“One day he will,” mentioned Heyward, who had a run-scoring single within the Cubs’ huge second inning. “He’s doing everyone here a great service, man, just how he goes about it. How he plays the game, competes. … Just knowing you got that mindset on the mound — regular season obviously is great, but when you see him in the postseason, he’s the same guy and turns it up a notch.”
Lester, who grew up in close by Puyallup, Washington, hasn’t allowed a run to the Mariners in his final 20 innings, courting to 2014 when he pitched for the Athletics.
“The one thing about Jon that’s really standing out to me is absolute composure and competitive nature,” Maddon mentioned. “That’s the 2 issues that I’m seeing. Like once we made the error, what does he do? He will get the blokes out of the jam. He’s actually slowing the sport down, and he competes on one other stage.
“I feel his self-confidence is at an all-time excessive proper now.”