Despite missing 20th win, Lester looks ahead

CINCINNATI — Jon Lester didn’t get his 20th win, but he did make 32 starts for the Cubs, totaled 200 plus innings and finished with a 2.44 ERA. And now it’s time for the second season.

Lester took the loss on Saturday as the Cubs dropped a 7-4 decision to the Reds at Great American Ball Park. The lefty served up five runs over five innings in his final regular-season start.

“Two hundred innings is big,” Lester said of this season. “Didn’t miss a start, and that’s what I pride myself on — that I take the ball every five days. That’s something I’ve tried to do for a long time. This [season] was special on a personal level, just where everything is at and finished. It’ll probably go down as one of the better if not best years of my career. Hopefully, there’s a couple more to come. Now we have the real business to get down to.”

Manager Joe Maddon has yet to announce the Cubs’ rotation for the National League Division Series, which starts on Friday, but Lester was expected to get the call. He has started Game 1 of a playoff series seven times in his career.

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“Now it’s go time,” Lester said. “This is the real season now. You play 162 to get to now. It’ll be completely different when you step on that field …

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