The start of the game was delayed 1 hour, 5 minutes because of rain but that didn't seem to faze Lester, who struck out the side in the first on 15 pitches. It was raining when the game started, then finally let up. The grounds crew provided weather radar updates to umpire crew chief Jeff Nelson periodically.
Lester posted the first complete game by a Cubs pitcher this season, and his first since last Sept. 2 when he went the distance against the Giants. The lefty struck out 10 in the game and faced the minimum in every inning but the fifth when the Giants tallied on Brandon Crawford's RBI double.