CHICAGO _ When Jon Lester carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Friday's 2-1 victory over the Giants, many in the crowd of 40,818 at Wrigley Field began to fidget with their smart phones, preparing to record a bit of history.
Angel Pagan and Buster Posey quickly grounded to second, leaving Lester seven outs away from turning the pitchers' mound into an impromptu mosh pit.
Lester was keenly aware of what was at stake, and didn't feel the need to pretend he was oblivious to the fact.
"You go through the first inning and you think no-hitter," he said. "Anybody that tells you different is lying to you. Any time you go out there you know when you haven't given up a hit or you don't have any baserunners. It's obviously on everybody's mind."
From the bleachers to the box seats, the tension at Wrigley built as Hunter Pence, the eclectic outfielder who had quoted Sun Tzu after Thursday night's loss, stepped to the plate with a cool, late-summer breeze off the lake blowing in his face.
"He was super aggressive the at-bat before," Cubs catcher David Ross said. "We got to two strikes and he didn't bite at the curveball. ... I wanted to go faded changeup off (the plate) because of the at-bat before, and then come back four-seamer in, and just never got to it."
On the 1-2 change, Pence muscled a fly over the left-field wall for a home run, spoiling the no-hit bid and ending the shutout.
"(The pitch) was terrible," Lester said. "I had a decent changeup today, and really the only that I cut kind of came back to the middle. Obviously not where I wanted it, but it ended up not hurting us, so move on and (I) kept making pitches after that."
Lester (15-4) wound up with a three-hit complete-game triumph. He's now 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA over his last seven starts.
And the Cubs are 40 games above .500 (87-47) for the first time since 1945, the last season in which they played in a World Series.
Three defensive gems aided Lester, including his own snaring of an Eduardo Nunez liner in the second.
"I don't know what happened," he said with a grin.
Kris Bryant dived to his right to grab another liner and rob Brandon Crawford in the fifth, and Dexter Fowler made a diving catch in the sixth to deprive Kelby Tomlinson and keep the no-hitter intact. Being environmentally conscious, Fowler even replaced his divot before going back to his position.
"Our defense has been fun to watch all year," Lester said. "It makes our jobs a lot easier because we know we can just throw the ball and let them hit it. We know those guys are going to make plays."
The Cubs managed only five hits off five Giants pitchers, but made them count. Back-to-back doubles from Javier Baez and Ross brought home the first run in the third, and Fowler added an RBI single later in the inning.
The victory ended an emotional day for Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who celebrated the eighth anniversary of the day he learned his cancer was in remission. Rizzo and Lester are cancer survivors, and many of the Cubs spent time in the dugout beforehand with children who battled cancer.
"Whether they know my story or not, just seeing them smile ...," Rizzo said. "I remember the uplift I got when I had Jon Lester there when I was going through it. It's cool, and to see their families smile, too, and say what a big deal it was. It's all part of (giving back)."
As Rizzo was being interviewed, Ross walked up and wrapped his teammate in a bear hug.
"Just wanted to say happy anniversary, so glad you are here," Ross said. "I'm a better person for knowing you."
