ST. LOUIS — Jon Lester did all he could to keep the Chicago Cubs close. The lefty knew there was little margin for error against old teammate John Lackey.
"I wouldn't say flawless, but obviously sitting over there you know what Lack's going to do," Lester said after the St. Louis Cardinals cooled off the Cubs 4-0 in their NL Division Series opener Friday night. "He had it working."
Lester struggled at the beginning and at the end of his outing for the wild-card winners, allowing a run on consecutive hits in the first and then retiring 13 in a row before rookie pinch-hitter Tommy Pham homered to key a pull-away three-run eighth.