Phillies at Cubs
Chicago Cubs left-hander Jon Lester bids to rebound from the worst start of his season against a team that he has thoroughly dominated throughout his career. Lester carries an 8-0 record with a 1.49 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 10 career meetings with Philadelphia into Thursday afternoon's finale of a four-game series against the visiting Phillies.
The Cubs answered a setback in the series with opener with back-to-back wins, with Javier Baez following up his game-winning hit in Tuesday's 3-2 triumph with a solo homer in an 8-4 victory the following night. Albert Almora Jr. belted a grand slam to improve to 7-for-15 during his four-game hitting streak for Chicago, which is averaging a league-leading 5.4 runs per game. Bryce Harper answered an 0-for-8 start to the series by matching Andrew McCutchen with three hits while Jean Segura added a pair, as Philadelphia's Nos. 1-3 batters in the lineup went 8-for-14 with four runs scored on Wednesday. Segura carries a 13-game hitting streak into Thursday's tilt versus Lester, against whom he is 2-for-5 in a small sample size.
TV: 2:20 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, NBCS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Aaron Nola (4-0, 4.47 ERA) vs. Cubs LH Jon Lester (3-2, 2.09)
Nola has answered a 6.84 ERA in his first five starts by posting a 2.30 ERA over his last five, with four one-run performances in his last five trips to mound reducing his season total by nearly 2 1/2 runs. The 25-year-old registered a career high-tying 12 strikeouts in a 2-1 win versus Colorado on Saturday. Nola owns a 1-1 mark with a 5.12 ERA in three career encounters versus the Cubs, whose current roster is batting .213 against him.
Lester endured his worst start of the season on Saturday after permitting five runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 5-2 setback at Washington. The 35-year-old yielded four runs (one earned) on 22 hits in his previous four outings (24 2/3 innings). Maikel Franco (1-for-12, four strikeouts) and Cesar Hernandez (2-for-12) have struggled versus Lester, who scattered eight hits and struck out seven over six scoreless innings in an 8-1 win at Philadelphia on Sept. 2.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia 2B/OF Scott Kingery is 1-for-8 with four strikeouts in the series.
2. Chicago 1B Anthony Rizzo belted a monstrous three-run blast on Wednesday to improve to 6-for-16 with two homers, five RBIs and four runs scored in his last four games.
3. The Phillies are just 4-6 against the NL Central while the Cubs own a 10-6 mark versus the NL East.