The Cubs went into Monday’s contest needing a win, not a tall task when facing the Pirates. Jon Lester was on his game in a big victory, but a potentially serious injury clouded the good news.
The Cubs took an early lead on Pirates starter JT Brubaker in the 2nd inning. Kyle Schwarber, fresh off his nationally televised benching Sunday, doubled to right and would eventually score on a perfectly placed two-out bunt hit from Javier Baez.
Lester pitched to contact most of the night, recording just one strikeout, but he got a lot of outs on the ground.