Jon Lester Becomes 25th Left-Handed Pitcher with 2,000 Strikeouts

Chicago Cubs ace Jon Lester failed to factor in the decision during Tuesday's 16-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, lasting just four innings due to a heightened pitch count.

He allowed three runs over the four frames but also racked up nine strikeouts and pushing him to 2,000 for his career. Lester is just the 25th left-handed pitcher in MLB to surpass that milestone, per MLB Stat of the Day.

While Lester's outing didn't last long, he was in the game long enough to launch his first career home run. The 33-year-old southpaw had a notoriously bad start to his career as a batter, going hitless in his first 66 at-bats before knocking an infield single off of then-St. Louis Cardinals (now Cubs) starter John Lackey.

Lester's dominance on the mound has faded slightly in 2017, but he still possesses a respectable 3.93 ERA and generally eats up a large portion of the game. In fact, Tuesday's outing was just the third of the season in which he didn't go at least five innings (23 starts).

In addition to eating up innings, Lester has still racked up plenty of strikeouts this season. Over 134 frames, he has notched 139, giving him exactly 2,000 for his career. Fernando Valenzuela sits 24th on the all-time strikeouts list for left-handers with 2,074, a number Lester could reach yet this year.

The Cubs return to the field Wednesday evening for the second of a three-game set against the Diamondbacks. Lester will likely be in the dugout with his teammates but will attempt to add to his career total in his next scheduled start Sunday against the Washington Nationals.