Chicago Cubs: Ranking Jon Lester’s biggest starts

No. 4: September 25, 2017, Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals

The 2017 season was not Jon Lester‘s best with the Chicago Cubs; his overall his 4.33 ERA, at the time, was his second-highest since his first full season in 2008. The team as a whole struggled for much of the season, which some attributed to a World Series hangover. And in his previous start before this game, Lester was coming off a rough outing in which he allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Coming into this game, the Cubs were close to the division title and could do so on the home turf of their nearest competitor and rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. They would not be able to do it on this night, but they could get to within one game of doing so with their ace, Jon Lester, on the hill.

The Cubs would spot Lester a four-run lead in the first inning, then would add four more runs in the next two innings, and Lester did the rest on this night. He would allow a solo home run to Jedd Gyorko in the second inning, but that would be his only blemish over six innings of work. The bullpen would back Lester up, allowing just one run in three innings as the final score was 10-2. The Cubs would clinch the division two nights later in St. Louis.

Like in 2015, the Cubs were not successful in Lester’s 2017 postseason starts. The team lost all three of them, though he only allowed one run in each.