Jon Lester looks to tame Tigers for Cubs in series finale

With cooler weather and possible showers rolling into Chicago, Joe Maddon will send southpaw Jon Lester to the mound in hopes of walking away with a series split against Miguel Cabrera and these dangerous Detroit Tigers.

Last night, right-hander Jason Hammel was mauled by this offense early on – surrendering five earned runs on three home runs in only three innings of work. He was removed from the game along with Tigers (57-61) after the rain delay that nearly lasted two hours.

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Second baseman Chris Coghlan, outfielder Kyle Schwarber, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo kept the Cubs (67-50) in the game, driving in six runs between the two of them. Detroit was able to slip away with a three-run lead in the eighth inning and eventually escaped a rainy Wrigley Field with the 10-8 victory.

Lester (8-8, 3.21 ERA) enters today with his team losing two games in a row for the first time this month. The 31-year-old lefty is riding a four-game winning streak that began after the All-Star break in Atlanta while visiting the Braves.

So far this month in two starts, he’s allowed a season-low four earned runs on 13 hits while posting a 13/4 K/BB ratio and 1.31 WHIP across 13 innings of work. He’s also held his previous eight opponents to only one long ball – something that was an issue for both clubs in last night’s contest.

Stepping up with a two-game sweep on his mind will be 22-year-old rookie southpaw, Daniel Norris. Norris (2-2, 4.24 ERA) appears to be one of those pitchers you need to watch out for when he’s in the batter’s box.

During Tuesday’s batting practice, Norris was responsible for ‘breaking’ the brand new video board out in right field and a photo of the damage was posted on Twitter later on.

He’s allowed nine earned runs on 19 hits with two home runs, 10/4 K/BB ratio, and a 1.35 WHIP through 19 innings since Aug. 2nd. Tonight, he’ll meet our rookies who love depositing pitches into bleachers.

First pitch is slated for another 7:05 p.m. central start time and will air live on WPWR, ESPN, WBBM 780.

Here’s  a look at tonight’s starting lineup’s:

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