Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earns win in Wednesday's game

Cubs pitcher Jon Lester earned his second win of the season during Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Cardinals.

"That's why you want a guy like him on your staff," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, per MLB.com. "Typically, his stuff kept getting better as the game progressed, we've seen that a lot. I thought his cutter became more pertinent later in the game. He made good pitches when he had to. He keeps making positive strides, and that's good for us."

Lester tossed seven solid of innings of work, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits. He also struck out six batters and walked two. He surrendered a solo home run to Johnny Peralta in the fourth inning.

It was Lester's second-consecutive appearance pitching seven innings and surrendering one earned run or less. He is now 2-2 with a 4.04 ERA on the season.

"He's just got a real good sense of his game," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said of Lester. "He knows when to expand the plate. He's got deception, he's got a good variety of pitches. He's just a good pitcher. He knows what he's doing."

He is expected to go for his third win of the season Monday against the Mets.