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CHICAGO -- A bid for a second career no-hitter fell short but Friday's victory by left-hander Jon Lester and the Chicago Cubs was just as sweet. Lester pitched 6 2/3 no-hit innings and allowed only three hits in a complete game as the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1.
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Lester (15-4) didn't give up a hit until Hunter Pence's solo home run with two out in the seventh inning. He threw 102 pitches, struck out four and walked two as the Cubs (87-47) won their fifth straight.
"He's been really solid, pretty much all season," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "For the most part, I'm seeing (Lester) out there really with great focus and even better with strike throwing."
Lester won his sixth decision in his last nine starts and has allowed one run or fewer in his last four appearances.
The complete game was Lester's second this seasons, the other coming on June 1 in a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Francisco starter Albert Suarez (3-3) took the loss after pitching five innings as the Giants (72-62) dropped their second straight.
"I thought (Suarez) did a real nice job," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He got in a jam there and it could have got away from him but he made big pitches. ... He regrouped and found a way to keep it close for us."
The Cubs hit Suarez for two runs in the third inning.
David Ross doubled into the left field corner to plate Javier Baez and break a scoreless tie. Ross advanced to third on Lester's sacrifice bunt and came home for a 2-0 lead on Dexter Fowler's one-out single to left.
Lester issued a first-inning walk to Giants first baseman Buster Posey and allowed nothing else until Pence's two-out bases-empty homer, a towering blast into the left field bleachers.
"It was terrible," Lester said. "It was obviously not where I wanted it, but it ended up not hurting us."
The Giants were aggressive at the plate but balls hit were usually at someone.
"We did have some good swings at times," Bochy said. "(But) it's another one-run loss, tough loss for us, but you keep battling. That's all you can do."
Fowler saved what was still a no-hit bid in the sixth despite contending with poor turf while making a sliding catch. The outfield grass was damaged by a concert last month and Fowler left a gash in the field, attempting to pat the turf back into place after his grab.
"Our defense has been fun to watch all year and it's made our jobs a lot easier because we know that we can just throw the ball and let them hit it, and we know those guys are going to make plays," Lester said.
Suarez was finished after five innings, departing for a pinch hitter in the sixth. He allowed two runs on three hits while walking two and striking out three.
The Cubs had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth inning but Jason Heyward lined into an inning-ending double play.
The Cubs moved 40 games over .500 and extended their NL Central lead to a season-high 16 games heading into Friday night's games.
NOTES: The Giants reactivated RHP Matt Cain from the 15-day disabled list (low back strain) before Friday's game, but he won't start in the Cubs series. Cain missed 13 games with his most recent stint on the list. ... San Francisco has gone 17 straight games without an error, the longest in franchise history. ... The Giants send LHP Madison Bumgarner (13-8, 2.49 ERA) against Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (16-5, 2.84 ERA) in Saturday's game three. ... The Cubs' 22-6 August record and .786 winning percentage was the best in a month with at least 20 games since July 1945 when Chicago was 26-6 (.813) and went on to the World Series. ... The Cubs' five innings of bullpen relief on Thursday (Rob Zastryzny, Joe Smith and Carl Edwards Jr.) was only the second time that has occurred in the last nine seasons. ... The Cubs scored in the first inning of each of their last six home games until Friday when they went down in order in the opening frame.
