CHICAGO _ Cubs slugger Kris Bryant missed his second consecutive start Thursday night because of a bruised left wrist, but David Bote picked up the slack.
Bote pulled a triple down the third-base line with two out in the second inning off 14-game winner Trevor Williams as the Cubs seized a 3-0 victory over the Pirates at Wrigley Field.
Jon Lester (18-6) pitched six shutout innings as the Cubs (93-66) expanded their lead in the National League Central to one game over the idle Brewers (92-67) with three games remaining.
The Cubs open a three-game series Friday against the rival Cardinals at Wrigley, while the Brewers play host to the Tigers.
The Cubs missed a chance to score more runs in the fourth. Ian Happ was thrown out on a steal attempt after Willson Contreras swung and missed at an outside breaking pitch for the first out.
Contreras followed with a double but was thrown out at home easily while trying to score on a single by Jon Lester. After a walk by Bote, Daniel Murphy hit a single to center that scored Lester.
Before the game, manager Joe Maddon said Bryant was available for pinch-hitting duties and is likely to return to the lineup Friday against the Cardinals after suffering a left wrist bruise Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Lester lowered his ERA to 1.52 in five September starts.
Steve Cishek, who threw only 21 of 45 pitches for strikes in his last three appearances, needed only 12 pitches to pitch a perfect seventh.
Carl Edwards worked out of a jam in the eighth by inducing Francisco Cervelli to ground into a double play and Jose Osuna to fly to center.
Jesse Chavez, who threw two innings and 33 pitches on Wednesday, pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Cubs collected eight hits in five innings against Williams, who held opponents scoreless in four of his last five starts.
