 allowed four hits and walked none in a possible tuneup for Game 1 of the NL Division Series against Washington. The veteran left-hander has allowed one run in 11 innings over his past two outings after posting an 8.22 ERA in his previous five starts.Lester's second straight win was a welcome development for the Cubs with Jake Arrieta coming back from a strained right hamstring. Kyle Hendricks also could start the playoff opener against the Nationals next Friday.The defending World Series champions continue to roll along with the playoffs approaching and their sights set on another big run. They had their top players back in the lineup after resting most of them the previous two games with their second straight NL Central title locked up.Schwarber finished with four RBIs. He hit a two-run drive in the second and a two-run single in the third against rookie Jackson Stephens.Rene Rivera came off the bench to hit a two-run single in the sixth and a solo homer in the seventh.Stephens (2-1) gave up four runs and four hits, and the last-place Reds lost for the 10th time in 11 games.Willson Contreras singled leading off the second and Schwarber drove the next pitch about halfway up the center-field bleachers, with a fan reaching out to make a neat catch. The home run was the sixth in 15 games for the slugger, who was sent to the minors after struggling early in the season.Chicago had the bases loaded in the third when Schwarber shattered his bat on a bloop single to center. That brought in Ian Happ and Kris Bryant.TRAINER'S ROOMReds: SS Zack Cozart (right quadriceps tightness) was held out of the lineup after playing on Friday. ''It wasn't 100 percent yesterday,'' manager Bryan Price said. ''I really want him to be able to play tomorrow.'' Cubs: Arrieta will throw a simulated game Wednesday, as will healthy LHP Jose Quintana. Though manager Joe Maddon was not ready to announce his rotation for the NLDS, they would figure to start Game 3 and Game 4, if necessary, at Wrigley Field.UP NEXTLeft-hander Mike Montgomery (7-8, 3.45 ERA) starts the finale for the Cubs with Arrieta resting for the playoffs, while right-hander Deck McGuire (0-1, 4.15 ERA) makes his second career start for the Reds.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Cubs taking spring training approach in game vs. Reds 5h ago• 2 min read CHICAGO -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the final two games of the regular season will have more of a spring training feel, with some regulars sitting out while others play limited innings.Expect Saturday starter Jon Lester to also have a relatively short outing as he makes his 32nd and final regular-season start in Saturday's middle contest of a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds."Just like you saw with Kyle (Hendricks) yesterday, hopefully the same thing with Q (Jose Quintana) today and hopefully with Jonny (Lester) tomorrow, nothing elongated," Maddon said after Friday's game.Maddon wanted Quintana to work about 80 pitches on Friday and he threw 81 before being removed.For position players who don't have the day off, Maddon said he'll give them the option to continue into the late innings if they want."We're going to treat it more like spring training, maybe three at-bats," Maddon said. "It doesn't have to be a full game. My plan is to talk to them during the course of the game, just like you do in a spring training game." The left-handed Lester (12-8, 4.46 ERA) has reached 32 starts in each of the last six seasons and will make his fourth start of 2017 against the Reds. He's 1-0 with a 10-13 ERA in three previous starts against Cincinnati, including nine runs in 1 2/3 innings while facing the Reds on Aug. 17 at Wrigley Field.Lester has limited left-handed batters to a .213 average while righties have batted .274.In his last start at St. Louis on Monday, he allowed one run in six innings in the Cubs' 10-2 victory.The Reds will start right-hander Jackson Stephens (2-0, 3.86 ERA).Stephens is scheduled to make his seventh big-league appearance, including his fourth start and second against the Cubs. In last Sunday's 5-4 loss at Boston, he was in line for this third victory but became a victim of a blown save in the eighth inning as Mookie Betts' two-run double off Raisel Iglesias tied the game at 4-4.He made his major league debut on July 1 against the Cubs and earned a 5-3 victory while working five innings and allowing three runs on six hits, striking out eight and walking just one.Stephens also had his first hit and RBI in that memorable game."It was unbelievable, a childhood dream going out there and trying to compete," he said after the debut. "Of course there was some butterflies, but it wasn't crazy." There will be less pressure Saturday as Stephens, one of four rookies currently in Cincinnati's starting rotation, makes his first Wrigley Field appearance.Looking ahead to Sunday, a scheduled start by Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta has been pulled and he'll instead throw a simulated game next week as he contends with the after-effects of a hamstring strain."Just primarily to give his leg more rest, that's what it would be," said Maddon, who said Arrieta might move back in the rotation in the upcoming National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals.
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