Enhanced Box Score: Cubs 2, Braves 0 – September 1, 2017

Can you say breezy?

With the exception of the few moments after a leadoff ground-rule double in the eighth and a leadoff walk in the ninth, that Cubs game was about as painless as it gets (and well under 3 hours, too).

Of course, with the exception of Anthony Rizzo, who stayed hot with two hits (including a double) and a walk, the Cubs bats didn’t do much in this one – but they didn’t really need to.

Javy Baez pulled off some crazy magic, and scored from second on a swinging bunt from Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the third inning and Anthony Rizzo scored on a single from Ian Happ an inning later, but that was all the Cubs needed.

Why? Because after a couple of rough outings, John Lackey was absolutely brilliant in this one. He went 7.0 scoreless innings against the Braves, walking zero batters and striking out five. With just three hits allowed too, I’m willing to guess that was Lackey’s best start of the season (he’s gone 7 scoreless just one other time this year). Oh, and over his past two outings, Lackey’s recorded 13 strikeouts to just 1 walk. That’s pretty freakin’ awesome. We’ll have to dig in on this one sometime soon.

But for now, enjoy the win and the start of your weekend.