Cubs’ Lester leaves early with hamstring injury

Jon Lester did not want to leave Monday’s game for the Cubs — not with Wrigley Field packed for the home opener, the bullpen thin on available pitchers and the team trying to turn the recent road trip into a distant memory.

When a left hamstring issue was bothering Lester in the third inning of the 10-0 romp over the Pirates, the veteran lefty initially convinced manager Joe Maddon to leave him on the mound. Following a few more errant pitches and a delivery that just did not look right, Maddon pulled the plug on Lester’s afternoon, though not before the starter’s teammates took notice of his resolve.

“We respect that,” Cubs shortstop Javier Baez said. “There’s a reason he’s out there. Hopefully it’s not that serious.”

The Cubs will have more information on Wednesday, following more tests on Lester’s leg during Tuesday’s scheduled team off-day. Right now, though, the injury does not seem serious. Lester tweaked his left hamstring while running the bases during a six-run rally in the second inning, during which he drove in a run with a hustle double and scored from second on a Ben Zobrist single.

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Sitting in the Cubs’ press-conference room following Monday’s victory, Lester noted that he never felt a pop and did not feel anything he would describe as pain. What the pitcher felt was more like a cramp, but Maddon was not going to risk leaving Lester out there any longer.

And just as Lester lobbied to keep pitching, he is already planning on staying on schedule. “In my mind, I’m making my next start,” Lester said. “Tomorrow may tell us something different and then we’ll re-evaluate, but I don’t think it’s as bad. Everybody on the training side always kind of thinks the worst-case scenario. I don’t. I don’t feel that way.”

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