PITTSBURGH -- Cubs pitcher Jonathan Lester helped himself on Tuesday night, collecting his second career two-hit game.
Lester singled in the fifth inning and hit a two-out RBI single in the sixth, driving in Jason Heyward, who had doubled, in the Cubs' 8-6 win over the Pirates at PNC Park. Lester entered the game with two hits in 19 at-bats this season. He also got the win, striking out six batters and giving up four runs over six innings.
It marked Lester's second career two-hit game, his other coming on Aug. 1, 2017, against the D-backs. Cubs manager Joe Maddon has often maintained that Lester, who entered Tuesday with a career .087 batting average, is the best bunter on the team.
"It's part of me as a player now," Lester said about hitting. "In the American League, you take batting practice a week before the Interleague [games] and a big thing is, you can ask a lot of those managers -- I remember [Terry Francona] telling me when I was young, 'Don't get hurt.'"
Lester had zero hits in 34 at-bats in his nine seasons with the Red Sox. He's now 4-for-22 this season, his fourth in the National League, with three RBIs.
"You're not used to running bases, you're not used to swinging the bat [in the American League], and now it's important," Lester said. "You've got guys in scoring position and you better get a bunt down or have a quality at-bat. That's the biggest thing is just having a quality at-bat and not just giving them an out. You work on it."