a 6–2 victory over the Portsmouth Truckers, allowing just one hit. With Danville, he had a 13–16 win–loss record in 307 innings pitched. It was during this time period that a scout who worked for Connie Mack discovered Lavender, who then sent him through a training camp and assigned him to the Holyoke Papermakers of the class-B Connecticut League in 1908; he finished with a 21–17 win–loss record. From 1909 to 1911, he played with the Providence Grays of the class-A Eastern League for three seasons, winning a career-high 19 games in 1911. It was reported on September 1, 1911 that Lavender was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. Charles Murphy, the Cubs' owner, drafted him with intent of then trading him to a Montreal minor league team as compensation for an earlier trade that brought Ward Miller to the Cubs. The Providence team owner, Frank Navin (who also owned the Detroit Tigers of the American League (AL)), appealed the transaction to the National Commission, forerunner to the modern-day Commissioner of Baseball. The commission ruled that Murphy had to either keep Lavender for one year, or return him to Providence. Murphy chose to keep Lavender, and his contract was approved on February 9, 1912 by NL president Thomas Lynch. Major league career Chicago Cubs 1912–1913 seasons Lavender made his MLB debut on April 23, 1912 as a relief pitcher in a 5–3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. On June 28, versus the Pirates, he threw a one-hit shutout in a 3–0 win, and collected three hits as a hitter. On July 1, he shutout Pittsburgh once more, this time in a 12-inning, 1–0 victory. He threw his third consecutive complete game shutout on July 5, a 4–0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Lavender took a 33-inning consecutive scoreless inning streak into his next start, a home game against the New York Giants and pitcher Rube Marquard. He gave up five hits and defeated the Giants 7–2, ending Marquard's consecutive win streak at 19 games, which at the time tied the record for the longest streak in baseball history. The loss appeared to affect Marquard for the remainder of the season, though he regained his form in the 1912 World Series. During the 1913 season, upon the ending of an 11-game winning streak by Washington Senators pitcher Joe Boehling, Marquard commented, "I know just