Cubs' Starting Rotation Is On Record-Breaking Pace

(CBS) The Cubs' road win against the Phillies on Monday night brought some more statistical significance with it.

With a 6-4 victory, Chicago became the fastest team to reach 40 wins since the 2001 Seattle Mariners. That's noteworthy because those Mariners hold the MLB record for single-season wins with 116, along with the 1906 Cubs. At 40-16, these present-day Cubs are playing .714 baseball, which equates to just shy of a 116-win pace (115.7 to be exact).

We're now more than one-third of the way through the season, so the Cubs' performance has surpassed the small-sample size. Whether they can keep up their blistering pace remains to be seen, but it's certainly possible if the Cubs' starting rotation keeps throwing like it has.

With left-hander Jon Lester's eight scoreless innings Monday, Chicago's rotation ERA has dropped to 2.33. Not only is that an MLB-best mark by a large margin, it's also on pace to be the best in the live-ball era (post-1920), according to ESPN Stats & Info. The lowest ERA for a starting staff in the live-ball era came from the 1968 Cardinals, who had a 2.40 mark, according to Inside Edge.

All five of the Cubs' starters rank in the top 19 in the National League in ERA, led by Jake Arrieta, who has a 1.80 ERA, second-best behind Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw's mark of 1.46. Lester is fifth at 2.06, Jason Hammel is sixth at 2.14, Kyle Hendricks is tied for 15th at 2.84 and John Lackey is 19th at 2.88.