Lester recovers from rut, Cubs rout Mariners

MIKE BASS

CHICAGO — Jon Lester felt better Friday, after some rough outings. He knows he wasn’t perfect in six shutout innings. A pair of “pointless, useless walks,” as he put it, still bothered him afterward.

Not that they mattered, the end.

The Cubs posted their highest-scoring game at home this season, routing the Seattle Mariners 12-1 Friday for their third straight win.

“The guys swung the bats really well,” Lester said. “I try to always tell them, 12 runs and an air-tight defense makes a pitcher’s job a lot easier, so that was good today.”

Lester (11-4) gave up four hits and struck out seven.

The lefty had lasted just 16 innings over his previous four starts, going 1-1 with a 10.13 ERA. That skid came after he had gone 9-3 with a 2.03 ERA in his first 16 starts.

“Johnnie Lester, I thought, pitched really well again,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I in thought he had a really good fastball today. From the side, to me, it was obvious that his fastball had a lot of jump on it.”

Jason Heyward and David Ross homered as the NL Central leaders won for the 10th time in their last 15 games after a 1-9 slump. They are 9-5 since the All-Star break.

Seattle lost in its first trip to Wrigley since 2007. The Mariners let infielder Luis Sardinas pitch the eighth, and he threw a perfect inning.

Lester matched his win total from last season.

“Jon did a great job settling in after the first couple of innings there and never gave up anything,” said Cubs right fielder Ben Zobrist, who doubled for the third straight game. “I think all across the board, as a team, it’s a real feel-good win.”

Lester was already done when there was a 74-minute rain delay in the seventh.

Mike Montgomery, traded last week from Seattle to the Cubs, pitched the final two innings. He gave up a single to Shawn O’Malley in the ninth for the Mariners’ run.

Hisashi Iwakuma (11-7) had won his last five starts, but gave up five runs and eight hits in three innings. His arm felt tight when he started warming up in the bullpen and never was “on,” manager Scott Servais said.

“He got loose and wasn’t sharp,” Servais said, “missed in the middle of the plate a lot, obviously, against a good offensive club, and it was a rough day.”

The Cubs already led 5-0 when they scored six times in the sixth inning, with Anthony Rizzo hitting a three-run double.

Heyward hit his first homer since June 11 and drove in three runs. He had been just 5 for 45 in his last 13 games.

Kris Bryant reached base all five times he came up for the Cubs. He singled twice, doubled and walked twice. It was Bryant’s team-high eighth three-hit game this season.

Sardinas, who played for Texas and Milwaukee the past two seasons, moved from first base to the mound and retired the Cubs on eight pitches.