Chicago Cubs: Jon Lester’s return to form played huge role for the team

After a down year in 2017, Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester bounced back in a big way, leading this club even as the offense fell flat down the stretch.

For the fourth time in as many season, southpaw Jon Lester took the ball 32 times for the Chicago Cubs, anchoring a starting rotation that saw ineffectiveness and injury take its toll unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years.

The team’s big offseason pick-up, Yu Darvish, made just eight starts. Kyle Hendricks and Jose Quintana were up and down for much of the first half before settling in late. Aside from a short stretch early in the second half, Lester set the tone for the staff and never looked back.

Lester finished the season with 18 wins and pitched masterfully in the National League Wild Card game in front of the home faithful at Wrigley Field. In short, he once again did exactly what the Cubs anticipated he’d do when they inked him to his six-year, $155 million deal ahead of the 2015 campaign.

Chicago Cubs: Looking like a 20-game winner once again

After taking the loss on Opening Day in Miami, Lester turned it on. He pitched to an earned run average no higher than 2.71 in April, May and June, heading into the month of July at 10-2. A two-time 19-game winner, this looked like it might be the season he finally cracked 20 victories.

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The southpaw was lights-out nearly every time he took the ball in the first half, turning in 111 2/3 innings of ball in which he held opponents to a .224 clip. His exploits loomed large in the grand scheme of things on the North Side. Those who had envisioned a one-two punch of Lester and right-hander Yu Darvish were in for a rude awakening.

Darvish took the ball for the last time on May 20. But, in typical Jon Lester fashion, the Cubs ace put his head down and just kept grinding, going 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA in June, doing everything he could to keep his team atop the division.

His efforts netted him his fifth career All-Star selection. He finished up the first half at 12-2 with a 2.58 ERA in 19 outings and it looked as if he might have a real shot as a National League Cy Young finalist.

Chicago Cubs: A horrendous month of July for Lester

As well as Jon Lester pitched prior to the All-Star Break, he pitched equally poorly coming out of it. In his final three starts of July, he amassed a mere 14 innings with an earned run average north of 8.00.

Lester talked about mechanical issues around this time, making it pretty clear he knew what was wrong and that he was working to address said concerns. But when your stuf left-hander turns in a 1.83 WHIP over the span of a full calendar month, it’s more than a bit concerning.

His struggles carried over into the month of August, as well. Lester failed to pitch past the sixth inning even once and gave up a cumulative 13 earned runs in his first two outings of August. From there, though, something clearly clicked.

He tossed six scoreless frames against Pittsburgh on Aug. 16 and followed that up with a 5 2/3-inning, one-run effort on Aug. 22. From that point forward, the 34-year-old Lester did not allow more than three earned runs in a start the rest of the season.