Cy Young Award voting three times Cody Barton Jersey , Jon Lester looks to be getting even better in his 13th major league season.

And it leaves the Chicago Cubs with no better pitcher to stop a losing streak that was extended to five games Monday with a 2-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lester will try for his sixth consecutive victory when he faces the Dodgers on Tuesday night in the second game of the four-game series. He will square off against the Dodgers’ Ross Stripling, who had his own six-game streak come to an end last week in Chicago

The Lester-Stripling matchup is the second one in a span of six days.

Lester not only has a 1.64 ERA over his five-start win streak, he has pitched at least six innings in seven consecutive starts and has a 1.67 ERA over his last 12 outings.

“(Lester) is just slowing the game down,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before Monday’s game in L.A. “He has gone to another level of maturation pitching-wise so I have really been enjoying watching him go about his business.”

Stripling is only in his third major league season, but he has shown an increased maturity level on the field as well this year. With the Dodgers in need of somebody to step up in the wake of a number of injuries to the starting staff, the right-hander made an easy transition from a bullpen role to rotation workhorse.

Stripling (6-2, 1.99) was not terrible in his outing against the Cubs last week, Lester was just better. The right-hander gave up three runs to the Cubs on eight hits with seven strikeouts over six innings. He sounded eager for a rematch.

“We’ve faced these guys in the playoffs the last two years Josh Oliver Jersey , and it’s a lineup we’re really familiar with, and they’re familiar with us,” Stripling said after Wednesday’s defeat, according to mlb.com. “We’re right there with this team, and we know that.”

Lester (9-2, 2.10) held the Dodgers to just five hits in his scoreless outing Wednesday as the Cubs closed out a series victory. It is the only series the Dodgers have lost since the middle of May when they were in Miami.

Not only are the Dodgers 16-5 in June, they have 48 home runs in the month after hitting two Monday and nine in their past two games. Since a May 17 victory in Miami, the Dodgers are 26-9.

As good as the Cubs have been since the start of the 2015 season http://www.thejaguarsfootballauthentic.com/quincy-williams-ii-jersey-authentic , winning at Dodger Stadium has proved difficult. They are just 2-8 in L.A. in that time, while going a baseball-best 334-226 in that same stretch. They did go 2-1 in L.A. while winning the 2016 National League Championship Series.

The Dodgers’ Enrique Hernandez has three home runs in two games and has six in his last 13 games. He is expected to be in the starting lineup Tuesday against the lefty Lester. Hernandez, the Dodgers’ super-utility player, has a career .874 OPS against left-handed pitching.

A pair of two-homer performances. A bases-loaded triple, followed by another triple. So many unusual things went into Chicago’s biggest comeback of the season that even the White Sox had trouble keeping track.

No matter. They’ll take it.

Daniel Palka and Avisail Garcia each homered twice, and Yoan Moncada tripled with the bases loaded in the 12th inning as the White Sox pulled off their biggest comeback and beat the Cincinnati Reds 12-8 on Tuesday night.

”Well, a lot going on today,” manager Rick Renteria said.

It was a night of non-stop offense Ryquell Armstead Jersey , right from the outset.

Trailing 7-2 after five innings, the White Sox pulled even in the ninth on Garcia’s solo homer off Raisel Iglesias, then pulled it out with the help of a couple of Reds errors.

”That last inning was tough,” said Reds second baseman Scooter Gennett, whose error opened the way.

The White Sox loaded the bases with a walk and two errors. Moncada’s opposite-field triple off Jackson Stephens (2-1) broke the tie, and Yolmer Sanchez followed with another triple.

Hector Santiago (3-3) fanned six in two innings as the White Sox extended their domination in the interleague series. They’re 17-5 all-time against the Reds, including 11-3 in Cincinnati.

”Surreal,” said Chicago starter Lucas Giolito http://www.thejaguarsfootballauthentic.com/gardner-minshew-ii-jersey-authentic , who gave up three homers but wound up on the winning side. ”From my perspective, I didn’t get the job done. It’s an awesome feeling that these guys play hard behind you.”

Jim Riggleman was ejected by plate umpire Eric Cooper during Chicago’s winning rally, his first ejection as the Reds’ interim manager. They had words as Riggleman was signaling from the dugout for an intentional walk.

”Then he made some comment that I didn’t like,” Riggleman said. ”That’s kind of how the whole game went.”

The Reds got the better of a free-swinging game early on, surging ahead 4-0 before Giolito could record an out. Jose Peraza opened with a triple, Gennett hit his 14th homer , Joey Votto walked, and Eugenio Suarez followed with his 17th homer . Suarez performed a salsa dance with Votto after he crossed the plate.

Adam Duvall added a three-run shot into the upper deck in left field in the fifth inning off Giolito for a 7-2 lead Garrett Bradbury Jersey , the second time in his career that the right-hander has allowed three homers in a game.

Anthony DeSclafani also gave up a career-high three homers – two by Palka and one by Garcia, who went 3 for 6 and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games.

INTERLEAGUE

The White Sox are 4-10 in interleague play this season. The Reds are 7-2. The loss snapped their streak of six straight wins against the AL.

LONG TIME COMING

The last time the White Sox and Reds played an extra-inning game was Game 6 of the ”Black Sox” World Series in 1919. Chicago won that game 5-4 in 10 innings at Crosley Field.

HOMECOMING

Giolito started the Futures Game as part of the All-Star festivities at Great American Ball Park in 2015 and pitched two scoreless innings .

SLOPPY, SLOPPY

The Reds committed a season-high four errors – two by Suarez at third, one by Peraza at shortstop and one by Gennett at second base.

ROBBED … SORT OF

Sanchez’s triple in the 12th came on a weird play. Right fielder Brandon Dixon stretched above the wall and grabbed the fly ball – robbing Sanchez of a homer – but the glove flipped off his hand as he hit the wall and the ball deflected back onto the field.

TRAINER’S ROOM

White Sox: Jose Abreu was out of the lineup a day after he fouled a pitch off his left ankle. X-rays were negative. Abreu pinch hit in the 11th inning and grounded out.

Reds: Homer Bailey threw 103 pitches in 6 2/3 innings of a rehab appearance for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday night, giving up one run and seven hits while fanning eight. Bailey has been sidelined since June 2 by a sore right knee.

UP NEXT

White Sox: Dylan Covey (3-3) is 0-1 with a 12.71 ERA in his last three starts, walking 12 in 11 1/3 innings and giving up 16 runs.

Reds: Sal Romano (4- went 1-2 with a 3.90 ERA in five June starts. He’s been limited to five innings in four of his last six starts.

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