They say pitching and defense wins championships and the Cubs had both in spades last year. Joe Maddon’s starting pitching absolutely dominated their opponents and three of the Cubs starting five finished in the top 10 of the NL Cy Young voting. Eleven pitchers made a start last year and combined for an outstanding 81-39 record with five complete games, two shutouts, a 2.96 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 929 strikeouts in 989 innings.
Arguably the best of the starting five was Jon Lester who redeemed himself after a rocky start to his Cubs’ career. Lester had a 19-5 record in 32 starts with two complete games, a 2.