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After the Giants won a thrilling NL Wild Card Game in Citi Field on Wednesday night, they now advance to face the best team in baseball in the Chicago Cubs. Game 1 of this particularly riveting NLDS is set for Friday night in Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field.

The quick-and-dirty details:

Time: 9:15 p.m. ET
TV: Fox Sports 1
Live streaming: Either Fox Sports Go or MLB.tv (full details are in those links)

We've already previewed the series and now it's time to hunker down and check out the Game 1 pitching matchup. It's a pair of Cy Young contenders, but this isn't even the best NL pitching matchup of the day.

A pair of All-Stars square off in Wrigley Field Friday night. USATSI

Jon Lester (19-5, 2.44) vs. Giants

After a good-but-not-spectacular season in 2015 for the Cubs, Lester has looked every bit the part of the guy the Cubs signed for more than $150 million this time around. His ERA, 164 ERA+, 1.02 WHIP and 6.8 hits per nine innings allowed were all career bests, which is pretty impressive for a 32-year-old.

Lester was significantly better at home than on the road this season, posting a 1.74 ERA and 0.89 WHIP as opposed to 3.17 and 1.15, respectively. Also, after the All-Star break, Lester was 10-1 with a 1.76 ERA and 0.94 WHIP.

That paragraph rang true in regard to the Giants this year, too. Lester faced them twice.

May 21 at San Francisco: 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 1 K
Sept. 2 in Wrigley: 9 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

So one of his worst outings (on the road and in the first half) along with one of his best (at home in the second half).

Giants leadoff man Denard Span has had very good success against Lester (.286 with .429 OBP in 35 PA). Among the regulars, only two others have more than 15 career plate appearances against the Cubs lefty:

Hunter Pence: .200/.294/.400 in 17 PA
Buster Posey: .313/.353/.563 in 17 PA

As for postseason experience, this ain't Lester's first rodeo. He's already logged 98 career playoff innings in six different years, pitching to a 2.85 ERA and 1.07 WHIP.

Johnny Cueto (18-5, 2.79) vs. Cubs

Cueto signed a huge deal with the Giants this past offseason and rewarded them by bouncing back in a huge way from a bad second half in 2015. He led the NL with five complete games and added two shutouts. He was bothered by a groin injury late in the season, but he wouldn't be starting this game if it were a concern. Also, don't worry about those 219 2/3 innings. He routinely works well into the 200s.

Now, one might think that Cueto's great season is at least partially a product of him pitching half his games in pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. One would be wrong. Cueto's home ERA is 2.79 while his road ERA is 2.78.

Cueto faced the Cubs one time this season, in Wrigley Field, and he pitched very well. He went seven innings, allowing only one run on five hits, though the Giants would eventually blow the game and lose.

Five Cubs have seen Cueto at least 15 times:

Anthony Rizzo: .120/.120/.280 in 25 PA
Chris Coghlan: .250/.348/.450 in 23 PA
Miguel Montero: .105/.150/.105 in 20 PA
Jason Heyward: .222/.222/.333 in 18 PA
Dexter Fowler: .188/.235/.188 in 17 PA

Take from these incredibly small samples what you will: Kris Bryant is 3 for 5 and Addison Russell is 3 for 6 with two doubles.

Cueto's postseason resume is a mixed bag. Overall he's 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA in seven starts, but last time out he threw a complete-game gem in Game 2 of the World Series. He was also nails in Game 5 of the ALDS, helping the Royals stave off the Astros in that short series. So two good and mostly bad.

The smart money is on a low-scoring affair here, but this isn't Kershaw-Scherzer. It's conceivable to see some crooked numbers on the board by the middle innings.