Jon Lester keys Cubs shutout and a quick look at the NL Central

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Welcome back Jon Lester.  In what is the best development the Cubs could ask for, Jon Lester went six scoreless innings in the Cubs 1-0 win over the Pirates.  Lester was extremely sharp, striking out eight while allowing only five hits.  Lester also didn’t walk anyone.  It was a reassuring performance after Lester had recorded an ERA of 10.32 in his previous five starts.  Lester picked up his first win since the All-Star break.

The game in one paragraph

After Lester departed, Steve Cishek, Carl Edwards Jr. and Pedro Strop each pitched a scoreless inning.  Strop picked up his tenth save.  Pedro has done a nice job as Cubs closer in the absence of Brandon Morrow.  Ian Happ provided all the offense in the game with a home run in the fourth inning. The win puts the Cubs up 3.5 games over the Brewers.

Was Matheny that bad?

While the Brewers are 3.5 games behind the Cubs, the Cardinals have come into play again.  They’re only 5 games behind the Cubs.  The Cards lost to the Nationals 5-4 Thursday night.  Even with that they’ve won eight out if their last ten.  Did the firing of Mike Matheny make that much difference?  I still don’t think the Cardinals have the horses to make the playoffs.

Red Birds bits and pieces

In looking at the Cardinals stats, it’s obvious that Matt Carpenter is having a great year.  He has 33 homers and a WAR of 5.3. Yadier Molina is still a nice player, but I was surprised to find his defensive WAR is 0.0.  Overall his WAR sits at 1.4.  Marcell Ozuna has been disappointing with a WAR of 1.6.

The Cardinals have a formidable starting rotation if they are healthy.  They haven’t been healthy this season and I don’t think they will be able to sustain a playoff run this year.  One pleasant surprise for the Cardinals has been the performance of Miles Nikolas.  He currently has a record of 12-3 with an ERA of 2.85.  He strikes out only 6.1 hitters per 9 innings, but allows only 1.5 walks.  Sort of old school.

Pirates sinking

The Pirates loss to the Cubs evens their record at 61-61.  They are now 10 games back of the Cubs and sliding out of playoff contention.  Like the Cardinals, I just don’t think they have the talent to make a run.  I also think they overpaid for Chris Archer.  Archer is 1-0 in three starts for the Bucs with an ERA of 5.65.  Counting his time with the Rays, he’s 4-5 with an ERA 4.49.  I’m afraid he might always be a tease with great stuff but production that doesn’t measure up.

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