Lester brings it right when team needs it

Jon Lester is 34, which sounds a lot older measured in pitcher’s years. He’s a little more than 10 years and almost 35,000 pitches removed from being the wunderkind cancer survivor who no-hit the Royals on a chilly May night at Fenway Park.

But the Cubs need him as badly these days as any team ever has, and he’s sure not letting them down.

Lester mowed down the Reds for seven innings Saturday afternoon, refusing to blink when the afternoon shadows were making it tough for his teammates to hit. The result, with help from four relievers and several other teammates, was a 1-0 victory that moved the Cubs a little closer to their third consecutive National League Central title.

“We do a good job of zoning in on guys’ weaknesses,” Lester said. “I’m a completely different pitcher than I was before I got here, even two years ago. I’ll take this me over the younger me any day.”

Lester no longer can reach back for a big fastball when he needs to put away a hitter, but his four-seamer averaged 92 on Saturday — still plenty to keep hitters honest. His sequence of pitches is a secret of his success.

“Back then I didn’t have a rhyme or reason why things worked,” Lester said. “It was ‘here’s my fastball, here’s my cutter, and I’ll throw you a curveball when I feel like it.’ Now I have a rhyme and a reason. We spend time talking about it, and I go out and try to execute it. It’s a lot more fun.”

This makes it 11 straight years that Lester (16-6) has made at least 30 starts, a notable feat. But the bigger significance is Lester joined Friday winner Cole Hamels in providing innings when short outings would have shredded the overworked bullpen.

“The starters right now are really important to us,” manager Joe Maddon said. “In the beginning of the year, the bullpen really picked them up. Right now it’s their turn to pick up the bullpen.”

Lester had left his Monday start against the Brewers with tightness in his lower back, causing alarm bells to ring. But on Tuesday he assured reporters he’d be fine, and the Reds can attest that he looked a lot like a stubborn, dogged left-hander.

“I felt good today,” he said. “It ended up moving after the other day into my hip. We were able to get some mobility back in there. It was fine. Like I say, good drugs, good doctors.”

Willson Contreras’ single in the sixth inning scored Javier Baez with the game’s only run. Cincinnati starter Cody Reed, who had an 8.01 ERA in 15 previous starts in the majors, struck out 10 Cubs in five innings as hitters squinted to pick up the ball out of the pitchers’ hands.

Both Maddon and Lester pointed out that Addison Russell very quietly made the play of the game.

Lester had walked Billy Hamilton on a borderline pitch in the sixth inning, with one out and the game scoreless. Hamilton stole second, with Contreras’ throw skipping past Baez. Russell, who was hustling to back up the play, dove to stop the ball from going to center.

That kept Hamilton from going to third with one out, and Contreras then cut him down trying to steal third.

“There’s a job to be done every single play, even when the ball crosses the plate and nothing happens,” Russell said. “You get yourself in the mindset that something is going to happen. And me being a middle infielder, I have a lot of jobs, a lot of responsibilities, and backing up is one of them.”

Small details make big differences in September baseball. Experience is a nice thing to have too.

Phil Rogers is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.