Jon Lester takes the mound for the Cubs vs Twins

The Chicago Cubs will send veteran southpaw Jon Lester to the mound in hopes of snapping their two-game winning streak as they continue their weekend series against the Minnesota Twins.

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Last night with Kyle Hendricks picking up the start, Chicago (35-30) struggled against veteran Phil Hughes, who would hold them to only one earned run on eight hits in as many innings. Hughes gave up a solo home run to All-Star hopeful, Anthony Rizzo during the top of the fourth inning – the 16th he’s given up this year which matched his 2014 total.

Rizzo recorded his 13th and 14th long ball in the loss – his last coming in the ninth inning with hopes of putting together a late rally. Catcher Miguel Montero picked up the team’s first hit while Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber finished the game without a hit of their own.

The only rookie in yesterday’s game to record a hit would be their second baseman, Addison Russell. Russell finished the game 1-for-4. Which is fairly surprising considering how well Schwarber was doing in the two-game road series in Cleveland.

Lester (4-5, 3.99 ERA) started off the month of June on a bad note but settled in his previous outing while hosting the Cincinnati Reds. The 31-year-old prized free-agent held that lineup to only one earned run on five hits with zero walks and four strikeouts and picked up the no-decision that featured a walk-off single by Starlin Castro.

Castro – who had a key error during the first inning of yesterday’s loss – became the first Chicago Cub since Ron Santo back in 1966 to record back-to-back walk-off hits.

Taking the mound tonight for the home team will be 25-year-old right-hander, Trevor May. May (4-5, 4.26 ERA), unlike Lester, started off this month strong but has dropped his previous two outings against both the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals.

In five innings of work against the Redbirds, May gave up three earned runs on five hits including two big flies with one walk and three strikeouts. Infielder Mark Reynolds and catcher Yadier Moline went back-to-back during the bottom of the fourth inning, extending their team’s lead to 3-0 following Jon Jay‘s RBI single in the third.

Minnesota (37-30) attempted to rally late with John Lackey on the mound, cutting the lead down to two on an RBI single by Kurt Suzuki and a sacrifice fly courtesy of second baseman Brian Dozier.

First pitch is slated for 1:10 p.m. central time and will air live on ABC-7, WBBM 780.

Next: Where Will Schwarber Play In Chicago?

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