Jon Lester to Start NLCS Game 1 over Jake Arrieta: Latest Comments and Reaction

In a somewhat surprising move Thursday, the Chicago Cubs officially named Jon Lester their starter for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, per MLB's official Twitter account. Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta will start Game 2.

	Lester	Arrieta
Starts	1	2
Innings pitched	7.1	14.2
Hits allowed	5	10
ERA	3.68	2.45
Strikeouts	9	20
Walks	1	2
Cubs W-L	0-1	2-0

Lester packs a postseason pedigree—91.1 innings over 15 games and two titles with the Boston Red Sox—but Arrieta was arguably the best pitcher in baseball this season. And the Cubs have won 19 of his last 20 starts, including the playoffs.

Though Lester is coming off a decent season (11-12, 3.34 ERA), it wasn't up to par for the $155 million contract the Cubs signed him to in the offseason. So why are the Cubs going with him for Game 1?

According to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com, Cubs manager Joe Maddon alluded to the value of an extra day’s rest for Arrieta, who is playing in his first postseason. By starting Game 2, Arrieta will be on five days' rest, while Lester will be on seven.

But Maddon also drooled over Lester’s postseason experience, per Sahadev Sharma of Baseball Prospectus:

Lester and Arrieta will each start on the road as the Cubs open Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets, depending on their deciding NL Division Series Game 5 on Thursday.

Maddon indicated the Cubs will go with four starters, per Muskat, with Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks rounding out the rotation in no specified order. That means Lester and Arrieta will likely pitch Games 5 and 6, if necessary, each on four days' rest.

The Cubs maintain they aren’t concerned about their upcoming opponents. Arrieta even told Muskat he is likely going to tune it out:

As of Thursday, the Cubs—with 5-2 odds—were behind only the Toronto Blue Jays as favorites to win the World Series, according to Odds Shark.