34 Jon Lester SP

Lester (17-6) picked up the win in Saturday's 8-3 victory over the White Sox, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits over five innings while striking out four.

The veteran southpaw is putting together an impressive finish to the regular season, going 5-1 with a 1.96 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 41:8 K:BB through 41.1 innings over his last seven starts. Lester will make one more trip to the mound before the playoffs when he takes on the Pirates at Wrigley Field on Thursday.

Lester (16-6) picked up the win Saturday against the Reds, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out nine across seven scoreless innings.

Lester was dialed in Saturday, which should ease any concerns that the back tightness that forced him from his last start would linger. The veteran southpaw racked up a season-high nine strikeouts en route to his team-best 16th win of the year. He's off to an impressive start to September, posting a 2-1 record, 1.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 23:4 K:BB across three starts (18.2 innings). Lester will look to keep things rolling, with a road start against the White Sox next on the docket.

Lester (back) is listed as Chicago's starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Reds, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

As expected, it looks like Lester will be capable of making his upcoming start after leaving Monday's outing with lower-back tightness. During that game, he allowed three earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven in 5.2 innings versus Milwaukee. On the year, Lester has logged a 3.57 ERA and 1.34 WHIP with a 7.3 K/9 across 29 starts.

Lester exited Monday's start against Milwaukee due to back tightness, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Lester didn't look right during the sixth inning, and he was eventually removed with two outs in the frame after the trainer was called out to the mound. The injury isn't expected to keep Lester out of action for long, although we won't know more about his availability moving forward until further evaluation.

Lester (15-5) allowed no runs on eight hits while striking out seven over six innings as he secured the victory Sunday against Philadelphia.

Lester managed to notch his third win in his last four starts, as despite allowing a fair amount of traffic on the bases, he kept the Phillies off the board for six frames. He continues to serve as one of Chicago's more reliable starting pitchers this season, sporting a 3.53 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with 126 strikeouts through 158 innings. Lester will take the mound next Friday against Washington.