June 15--If the Chicago Cubs are to remain in the conversation to make the postseason, they will need more consistently solid performances from left-handed starter Jon Lester.
Lester (4-5, 4.25) gets the start Sunday night against the Reds' Anthony DeSclafani (5-4, 3.53) in the series finale at Wrigley Field.
In his last outing, Lester allowed five runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings of a 6-0 loss at Detroit.
Last year, Lester combined to go 16-11 with a 2.46 ERA during stints with the Red Sox and A's.
In two previous Cubs starts against the Reds, Lester had a 6.75 ERA, allowing nine runs on 15 hits in 12 innings pitched.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon's hopes for Lester: "Just have Jon be Jon. Just go out there and be assertive, be aggressive. I am looking forward to watching it. I am looking forward to seeing what we do."
The Cubs are coming off a 4-3 win over the Reds Saturday night in a game that was interrupted by a 2-hour, 48-minute rain delay. Starlin Castro drove in Kris Bryant with the winning run in the ninth inning.
The Cubs have won two out of the first three games of this series.
Before Sunday's game, the Cubs announced that they promoted right-handed reliever Brian Schlitter and sent outfielder Junior Lake to Triple A Iowa.
