CHICAGO -- The Cubs were able to take two out of three from a very good ballclub, they saw their ace return with good health for the series finale, and despite Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, things could be much worse.

Here are three takeaways from the three-game series vs. Los Angeles.

1) Jon Lester looked good

If you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t have thought starter Jon Lester had gone 17 days since his last start.

Lester pitched well during his first start since landing on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, facing minimal damage and showing no ill effects of the injury throughout the game.

“Felt fine. Felt normal," Lester said. "It’s very tough, especially when you’re used to pitching every five days. It’s kind of like a caged animal for a couple of days there. Just really didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s a testament to our training staff. They kept pushing me and I kept pushing them. I got back a little bit sooner than I think everybody thought so [that’s] always good.”

Lester moved well on the mound in his first start since April 8, showing no signs of fatigue. His fastball averaged 91 mph, with a max velocity of 92.7 mph, according to Statcast.

“I thought he looked really good for being out as long as he has been,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I thought the velocity was there. I thought the finish on the pitches was there and the offspeed stuff was there. He pitched really well.”

Lester tossed five innings and allowed just one run. He struck out five and did not walk a batter.

Lester’s return to the rotation comes in the midst of a stretch during which Cubs starting pitchers took it upon themselves to pick up the slack with the team’s ace on the shelf. The starting rotation has a 1.80 ERA in the last 12 games and has allowed only 14 earned runs in those games.

“They did a great job,” Lester said. “Cole [Hamels] and Q [Jose Quintana], Kyle [Hendricks] kind of hit his stride there. Darvish down in Miami threw the heck out of the ball. Chat [Tyler Chatwood] the other day was unbelievable. I was just glad not to mess that momentum up today and keep going.”

2) Javy Baez has a firm grasp of shortstop

There has been much discussion about what the Cubs will do when it’s time for incumbent shortstop Addison Russell to return from his suspension. But Javier Báez is playing like he wants to stay at short for the long haul.

“The type of power he’s shown the past two nights, he’s shown he can hit [homers] to the opposite field or he can pull ’em and the defense he has is outstanding. You’re always going to see him. You can’t get away from him,” starter Cole Hamels said on Wednesday. “He’s a big catalyst in our lineup. He makes it look easy. I’ve been really fortunate to have some pretty good shortstops that have won some MVPs and put up some pretty good careers. I’d say he’s right in line with those guys.”

During the three-game series against the Dodgers, Baez hit .454 with two homers, three runs scored and three RBIs, including his team-leading 11th multihit game of 2019.

Baez, the 2018 National League MVP Award runner-up, has carried over his breakout season from last year and has continued to do more of the same.

Not only has Baez become the Cubs’ most valuable player over the last year-plus, but he’s also become one of the best shortstops in all of baseball.

“There’s no fear in his game,” Maddon said.

The Cubs’ shortstop leads the team in almost every offensive category and has shown he can have the same impact on both sides of the ball.

Despite his error that brought home a run in Thursday’s loss, Baez is tied for the league lead among shortstops with five defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs.

The team has already started to have discussions on what it will do at shortstop, since Baez looks firmly entrenched at the position. One of those options includes moving Russell around the infield, which Maddon said he will do during Russell’s seven-day stint with Triple-A Iowa.

Russell is eligible to come off the restricted list on May 3 vs. the St. Louis Cardinals. Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told reporters prior to Thursday’s game that Russell could be optioned to Triple-A Iowa after his seven-day prep there, noting that it may take more time for him to get ready.

“Nothing is promised,” Epstein said. “We’re just making sure he puts in the necessary work off the field and then monitoring his baseball progression.”

3) The offense sputtered, but is coming around

The Cubs sputtered at the plate Thursday after back-to-back games of scoring seven runs. The offense managed just seven hits and was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the series finale, but it showed signs of breaking out during the games vs. the Dodgers.

The Cubs averaged five runs per game in the three-game set, and despite scoring just the one run on Thursday, 10 of the team’s 15 runs came with two outs.

Chicago is fourth in the Majors with 58 runs scored with two outs.

The team hit 23 balls with exit velocities of 90-plus mph during Wednesday’s win and has had better approaches at the plate, despite several of the team’s run producers scuffling.

Anthony Rizzo has hit safely in his last six games, hitting .368 in the process. Kris Bryant, who was 0-for-2 with two walks on Thursday, has a .480 on-base percentage in his last six contests. While the progression has been slow, there are signs of life.

“I wasn’t displeased with the at-bats. Every pitcher they threw out there had all their stuff going and they can mix it up pretty well,” Maddon said. “I thought we played well. You can make the argument we had better swings than they did all day, too.”