CHICAGO -- It might get lost after a wild finish in the Chicago Cubs' 7-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, but the fact remains: The Cubs have won the past seven games John Lackey has started, including the one in which he stole his first career base.

You read that right.

In his 439th regular-season start in the major leagues -- and at 38 years old -- Lackey stole second base on righty Homer Bailey in the fourth inning. After Lackey reached on a two-out single, first base coach Brandon Hyde asked the hurler if he wanted to swipe a bag. The Reds had been playing behind runners all night.

"Heck, no. I'm tired," Lackey recalled telling Hyde. "But then, after the first pitch, no one was watching me, and it looked like it was pretty easy, so I went ahead and went."

Except Lackey took off too early, before Bailey even threw to home. Yet he made it safely to second, as the pitcher was late in throwing to the bag.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, the good vibes didn't last long. Moments later, on a 3-2 pitch to Ben Zobrist, Lackey got caught wandering off second base and was picked off by catcher Tucker Barnhardt. His first career steal and pick-off came within minutes of each other.

"I made two bets," Lackey said. "One worked, one didn't. Was a 3-2 pitch with the MVP on deck. I was betting on a strike or a swing [by Zobrist]. I was trying to score."

Instead, it was ball four, and the inning was over on the pick-off. But no one in the Cubs dugout seemed to mind. They had a comfortable lead at the time, though it would soon evaporate.

"He was pretty gassed with all the baserunning," Maddon said. "It was cute until he got picked off at second."

If Lackey actually was gassed, he didn't show it. He finished his outing with some of his best stuff. That has been a trend for him since he came to the Cubs: start slow, finish strong.

"Probably experience being through some tough ones before," Lackey said. "Definitely didn't have a good feel for first two innings."

That's when the Reds put men on base all over the place, but two defensive outs at home helped Lackey, and he took care of the rest -- even helping end Joey Votto's streak of reaching base two or more times at 20 straight games. Votto singled in the first inning but never got on again.

"He finished strongly against a really tough part of the batting order for him," Maddon said of Lackey.

Lackey's first-half struggles are seemingly behind him, and it's no longer a reach to think that he could start a playoff game if the Cubs get there. He deserved the win Wednesday (the bullpen blew a 6-1 lead), but the team victories are all that matter.

On a night when Votto’s streak ended, Maddon got tossed for arguing a call reversal and the Cubs won on a wild pitch, it is still Lackey's performance that is most important: six innings, four hits, three walks and just one run.

"He did it all today," catcher Alex Avila said. "He was able to lock in after a couple innings and make good pitches when he had to."

Before the game, Maddon said he thought Lackey was pitching the best he has seen him in his two years with the Cubs. In true Lackey fashion, instead of simply agreeing with his manager, he refuted it.

"I was pretty good in the first half last year," Lackey said with a smile. "I don't know about that."

That's the Lackey we know -- not the one stealing bases. Surly Lackey is the most fun Lackey, and if he's planning to retire after this season, then start No. 439 will be a memorable one. Asked if he is planning to hang them up or return for a 16th season, Lackey didn't bite at the question.

"I haven't said anything about retirement," he said. "I'm just playing baseball. Taking it one start at a time. That will be a family decision at the end of the year."

If he decides to keep playing, he was able to pad his offensive statistics for free agency and win the day in his ongoing bets with best friend Jon Lester. Lester has homered and stolen a base this season, so Lackey had some catching up to do. Lester starts against the Reds on Thursday.

"They are going to have a good debate about that tomorrow after the game," Anthony Rizzo said. "That was cool."

What or how much did Lackey make off Lester for getting a hit and stealing a base?

"None of your business," Lackey chirped back.