Oct. 01--After reaching two milestones Wednesday, Jon Lester hoped that his 10-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds wasn't his final start off the 2015 season.
Lester marveled more over the maturity of the Cubs' young players than his own distinction of pitching 200 innings for the seventh time in his career and setting a franchise record for most strikeouts in a season by a left-handed pitcher.
Lester hopes the maturity will carry the Cubs deep in the post-season.
"The talent is what sold me on," said Lester, who won't pitch again this season unless the Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League wild-card game on Oct. 7. "The talent is here. It's a matter of teaching these guys how to do it every single day. (But) you didn't have to teach them. They knew what they needed to do day in and day out."
Lester kept a close eye on the youngsters because he is adamant about being prepared.
"These guys have done a great job, from the youngest guys to the oldest guys to the guys in between to the coaching staff, of being ready every single day to go out and perform. And its shows where we're at."
Lester, who finished with an 11-12 record and 3.34 ERA in 32 starts, wasn't willing to assess his season. His next start would be lined up for Oct. 9 at St. Louis if the Cubs beat the Pirates in the wild-card game.
But he did take some satisfaction in his eight-inning performance that increased his season inning total to 205.
"The one individual goal I set is 200 innings," Lester said after hitting that mark for the fourth consecutive season. "That's a big one for me. That's the long days in the winter where you don't want to get up and work out. You think of the post-season, pitch every five days and making those 32 to 33 stars and get to 200 innings. At the end of the day, no matter how the rest of the stuff is, it's something I take pride in.
Lester struck out nine to increase his season total to 207 and pass Ken Holtzman's previous strikeout record of 202 in 1970. But he looked forward more to returning to the post-season. Lester won two World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2007 and 2013.
"I don't think anyone is ever ready for the post-season," Lester said. "We've been doing this for six to seven months. Now you get to play in front of sold out crowds jacked up and ready to go. That helps with the way your body feels or the little things going on."
