Jon Lester

The Chicago Cubs are one win away from the World Series, and Jon Lester is back among the pantheon of postseason studs.

On Thursday, the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 at Chavez Ravine to grab a 3-2 lead in the National League Championship Series. Game 6 will be played Saturday at Wrigley Field.

With Major League Baseball's playoffs just days away, the first 100-win season since 1935 doesn't mean a thing for Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester. 

One alarming concern for the Chicago Cubs is a bone chip in Jon Lester's throwing elbow.

On Friday, Lester said it's been a "non-issue," according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Matt Harvey had made one start in the postseason in his short career in the majors, and that was earlier this season. Jon Lester had started 13 games and carried a 2.66 postseason ERA over his long tenure with the Red Sox, Athletics and Cubs.

In a somewhat surprising move Thursday, the Chicago Cubs officially named Jon Lester their starter for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, per MLB's official Twitter account. Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta will start Game 2.

If the second game of the Chicago Cubs-Pittsburgh Pirates doubleheader Tuesday was a preview of the National League Wild Card Game, the Cubs will take it and smile.

The 2015 MLB season continues to roll along with less than two months before October. Most daily fantasy owners have likely gotten into a groove at this point, but the names at the top of lists are constantly changing.

Some players have risen to the task in August, while others have fallen off under the pressure of a playoff push. Ahead of Thursday's slate of games, here's a look at some studs and duds for August 13.

For almost four years now, there has been absolutely no shortage of hype.

Ever since Theo Epstein agreed to turn around the Chicago Cubs to the tune of $18.5 million for five years, the North Side faithful—and beyond—have salivated for the season when the new president of baseball operations would make good. In Epstein's fourth season running the show, the hype is now developing into substance.

They say you only get one chance to make a first impression, but nobody says you can't recover from making a bad first impression.

That's what the Chicago Cubs must be telling themselves about Jon Lester's bad first impression, anyway. And fortunately for them, their $155 million man should allow them to breathe easy before long.

Even though the 2015 Chicago Cubs baseball season is just a week away, the hot topic of discussion lately has not been the state of the team; rather, it has been the fate of the historic Wrigley Field.

Chairman Tom Ricketts has already announced that the ballpark will not be ready for Opening Day, and renovations could take an extra year to complete.