Cubs catcher Willson Contreras put his arm around Jon Lester, a pitcher he’d caught for almost half a decade. Now, their jerseys clashed – Contreras in pinstripes and Lester in navy blue – and Lester had a bat in his hands.
An ovation swelled from the quarter-capacity crowd, welcoming Lester back to the Wrigley Field batter’s box. Contreras joined in, tapping the heel of his mitt with his right hand.
In the bottom half of the same inning, Contreras would blast a home run off Lester.
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“You're pitching against your buddies,” Lester said after the Cubs’ 7-3 win over the Nationals. “You're pitching against guys that you've grinded with for a lot of years and built relationships with. So, it's just a different feeling than pitching in a playoff game or something like that.”
Lester’s return to Wrigley, for the first time since he signed with Washington, brought together conflicting forces within the Friendly Confines.
On the one hand, it was a celebration of everything the veteran southpaw had done for the organization. He’s lauded as the Cubs’ greatest free agent signing.
“He’s a big reason why this franchise turned into a winning franchise,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said in a Zoom media conference Monday, “and why you guys are writing, ‘Why are we not as good as we should be?’ – that reason is because of Jon Lester and how he came in and changed the culture. Along with other things, but he's one of the main reasons why.”
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Related: Observations: Cubs’ bats spoil Lester’s return to Wrigley
On the other hand, the Cubs came to the field Monday to beat Lester.
Cubs manager David Ross said it felt “extremely, extremely awkward” to game-plan for Lester. Evidently, the team prepared well.
Lester had only allowed four runs in his three previous starts this season combined. The Cubs scored five off him in 5 1/3 innings.
Lester hadn’t given up a home run before Monday. The Cubs launched three off him: Contreras’ laser into the left field bleachers and opposite-field shots from Jason Heyward and Javy Báez.
Rizzo, after gushing about Lester’s influence pregame, started the Cubs’ scoring. He hit a deep fly ball to former Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber, giving Contreras plenty of time to tag at third base and go home.
The two teams traded home runs from there.
“It felt strange facing him,” Contreras said. “Now that he’s on another team I wish him the best. We’re still really close. “
Cubs starting pitcher Adbert Alzolay allowed three runs in his five innings on the mound. Two home runs – Trea Turner’s solo shot and Schwarbers’ two-run blast – accounted for all three.
Alzolay said after the game that he didn’t have his sharpest stuff. But it just so happened that the veteran pitcher who he watched “always stay in the fight” was on the mound for the other team. Alzolay adjusted and kept attacking.
“He took me on the under his wing when I first made it to the big-leagues,” Alzolay said. “So, for me, it was a special moment.”
Lester left the game after Báez’s home run in the sixth. Wrigley Field erupted in cheers as he walked off the mound, and the standing ovation didn’t let up until he had disappeared into the Nationals’ dugout.
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