CHICAGO — Even when John Lackey is bad, he is good.
That's not to say the Chicago Cubs' starting pitcher is never off his game. But nearly every time the 37-year-old takes the mound, he is good enough to win regardless of the quality of his pitching repertoire.
If that sounds too cryptic, think of it this way: When Lackey doesn't have his best stuff, he is still able to keep the Cubs in a game. Lackey is some version of baseball's Rumpelstiltskin. He can turn the most ominous-looking starts into gold.
His two-year, $32 million contract is looking like a bargain, and he's had a huge impact on the Cubs' rotation depth.
Take the right-hander's most recent start, Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, as an example. Rookie Cubs catcher Willson Contreras was making his first MLB start. The two were sometimes disjointed on how to attack a hitter, and Lackey's pitches had less movement than normal.
Still, Lackey allowed only three runs on seven hits in six innings of work.
"That's one of John Lackey's better games," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "The fact that he did not have it all going on and for six innings kept them to three runs, I thought that was outstanding.
"They worked really good at-bats early. They got his numbers up quickly. I think his fifth inning might have been the quickest one before the sixth. He wanted to go back out, but it was just enough. It was [at] 109 [pitches] at that point. He did wonderfully."
Monday wasn't an outlier. All but two of his 14 outings this season have been quality starts (pitching at least six innings while giving up no more than three earned runs). He has a 2.78 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He has pitched 94 innings this season and is averaging 98.1 pitches per start.
Sometimes, that number can be skewed, but that's not the case with Lackey. He has made it through at least six innings in all but one of his starts. If that's not consistent enough for you, ditch baseball and watch Groundhog Day on repeat.
"I've got no mental problems," Lackey said of his Monday outing. "I'm going to get after it regardless. Early on, I definitely wasn't locating quite as well as I could. I made some adjustments. We made some adjustments in between innings that paid off in the end."
When a starter can be as successful as Lackey, it adds depth to the rotation.
Back-end starters Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks have been surprisingly good this season—Hammel's ERA is 2.55, and Hendricks' is 2.94.
Lackey's consistency as the team's No. 3 starter has taken pressure off Hammel and Hendricks to go deeper into games. And his durability has kept the team's bullpen arms rested.
Hammel and Hendricks can throw harder earlier, knowing there's greater availability in the bullpen.
Chicago's bullpen has pitched only 188.1 innings—the fewest in baseball.
Last season, the Cubs bullpen threw 514.2 innings, the 14th most in MLB, and its starting staff had a 3.36 ERA. This season, Chicago's starters have a 2.39 ERA; the second-place New York Mets starters combine for a 3.22 ERA.
The only notable change between 2015 and 2016? Lackey.
"I got more options nowadays," Lackey said Monday. "I had to go to some secondary options later in the game. You just keep battling, keep getting after it. Those are the kind of games that make you who you are."
Those kind of games have also made the Cubs rotation what it has been this season.
Seth Gruen is a national baseball columnist for Bleacher Report. Talk baseball with Seth by following him on Twitter @SethGruen.
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