Cubs’ Jon Lester isn’t as easy to run on as it seems

Jon Lester is scheduled to start for the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, and you can sense the wheels spinning in the heads of Dodgers fans who are thinking, “Let the track meet begin.”

Not so fast.

The veteran left-hander has not cured his well-known case of the “yips,” a mental block that prevents him from making pickoff throws and throwing accurately to bases on bunts and grounders, but that doesn’t mean the Dodgers can run wild on him.

Of the 14 baserunners who have attempted to steal off Lester in 62 innings over 10 games this season, eight have been gunned down, a 57% caught-stealing rate.

“Those numbers don’t lie,” Dodgers utility man Enrique Hernandez said. “You can get a giant lead, and he’s still gonna hold you, hold you, and when he goes, he’s really quick to the plate. And their catcher [Willson Contreras] has a bazooka, so it’s not as easy as it looks.”

In 2015, Lester’s first season with the Cubs, opponents were successful on 44 of 55 stolen-base attempts against him for a 20% caught-stealing rate. Opponents stole 28 bases in 41 attempts off Lester in 2016 for a 32% caught-stealing rate.

Lester adjusted, lowering the time between first move — the lifting of his front leg — and the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt from a below-average 1.4 seconds to 1.1-1.2 seconds, which Cubs manager Joe Maddon termed “outstanding.” Lester also varies his “hold” times in the stretch, making it tough for runners to anticipate his first move.

“When we first got him, there were all these numbers out there about him being run against and he can’t throw first base and all that crap,” Maddon said. “We thought, ‘Let’s emphasize what he does well.’ I think sometimes, when you’re trying to fix a problem, you take somebody away from his strengths.

“His strengths are he is quick to the plate, we have a catcher with a great arm, and Jon throws the ball home extremely well. I don’t want him to be worried about throwing the ball to first, which he hasn’t done well, and have that detract from throwing the ball home, which he has always done well.”

The last time Lester pitched in Dodger Stadium, in Game 5 of last year’s National League Championship Series, Hernandez led off the first inning with a walk. Hernandez took a huge lead off first, between 15 and 20 feet … and did not steal.

“I was trying to distract him,” Hernandez said, “to get his focus off the hitter.”

Lester gave up one run in seven innings of the Cubs’ 8-4 victory. Of the four Dodgers who reached base that day, only one stole second.

“If it was easy to steal off him,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “more people would do it.”

Short hops

Justin Turner (right hamstring strain) will not be activated when he is eligible to come off the disabled list on Monday. Roberts said the third baseman, who has been running at about 50%, throwing and swinging in the cage, will need a brief minor league rehabilitation stint and could return by next weekend’s series in Milwaukee. “We’re just not gonna rush him,” Roberts said. ... Cubs utility man Ben Zobrist did not start Saturday because of a sore wrist, but he is expected to play Sunday.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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