CHICAGO — Jon Lester had the roaring crowd shaking Wrigley Field to its foundation.
Turns out, his rare pickoff late in the game was about all the Chicago Cubs gave their fans to celebrate.
With a chance to knock the Nationals out of the playoffs, the defending World Series champions got shut down by an ailing Stephen Strasburg in a 5-0 loss on Wednesday.
That sends their NL Division Series back to Washington for a decisive Game 5 on Thursday. Lose that one, and the Cubs can forget about another parade.
"I don't think anybody likes having their backs against the wall," Lester said.