No matter how well Kluber was pitching, it was no surprise that Terry Francona turned to ace reliever Andrew Miller. Just as the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays found out in the playoffs, Cleveland is more than happy to go to Miller early and often. He made things more dramatic than he had in the early rounds, working around 2 hits and 2 walks, but he bridged the gap to closer Cody Allen who shut the door on the Cubs.
Francicso Lindor continued to be a bright spot for the Cleveland offense, going 3 for 4 with a stolen base, but the night belonged to Perez, who had a solo homer off Lester in the fourth inning and a 3-run blast off Hector Rondon in the 8th. The light-hitting catcher batted just .183 this season but has now matched his regular season home run total in the postseason, with two tonight and one in the division series against Boston. He is just the 53rd player to hit two home runs in a World Series game.
Because of the rain anticipated Wednesday night, Major League Baseball has made the unusual decision to move things up an hour for Game 2, with the first pitch expected shortly after 7 p.m. Eastern. Jake Arrieta of the Cubs is expected to face Trevor Bauer of the Indians.
Bottom of 8th: Perez Puts Cubs Away
Roberto Perez: Offensive superstar.
Brandon Guyer got a two-out walk and Lonnie Chisenhall moved him over to second with a single at which point Joe Maddon once again went to his bullpen, with Hector Rondon becoming Chicago's fifth pitcher of the game. The move backfired as Perez, who had homered in the fourth inning against Jon Lester, went deep again for a 3-run blast to make it 6-0. The light-hitting catcher now has three postseason home runs to match the three he hit during the regular season. Cody Allen will now come in for the ninth to try to close out the win for Cleveland.
David Waldste in: Roberto Perez in his first World Series game: two home runs, four runs batted in. Perez crushed that hanging slider and if anything, the wind was blowing in, according to the flags. The Cleveland pitchers love talking about what a great job Perez does behind the plate. He's doing some good work standing next to it, too.
Indians have scored five of their runs with two outs.
Top of 8th: Miller Works Out of a Jam
Andrew Miller continued to look human, allowing a one-out walk to Kris Bryant and a two-out single to Ben Zobrist. But he got out of it once again, striking out Kyle Schwarber on a mighty hack that even Reggie Jackson would have been proud of.
Miller had to work hard for his two scoreless innings. His 46 pitches were 6 more than the 40 he threw in Game 1 of Cleveland's division series against the Boston Red Sox. For the ninth, he will almost assuredly come out in favor of Cleveland's closer, Cody Allen.
David Waldstein: Another nerve-wracking inning for Miller.
We don't know how for certain yet how this game is going to end, but the Indians should never be doubted. They have played eight postseason games as the underdogs and won seven. They barely hit at all in the A.L.C.S. (.168 team batting average) and still won in only five games because their pitching is terrific, and pitching is what makes champions.
Bottom of 7th: Cubs Running Out of Chances
After Pedro Strop retired the leadoff batter, he was replaced by Travis Wood. The left-hander got Jason Kipnis to ground out before he was pulled in favor of Justin Grimm. Francisco Lindor doubled on Grimm's first pitch, making him 3 for 4 on the night, but Mike Napoli ended the inning with a soft grounder to second.
The Cubs are down to six remaining outs to get something going against the Cleveland bullpen.
David Waldstein: Miller comes out for the 8th inning, of course. I'd like to take a moment to extol the virtues of Progressive Field. I love the shape of it; the huge wall in left; the gigantic scoreboard, which might be the biggest I've ever seen; the deck along the first-base line; the ability for a handful to see inside from the street without paying; and especially the unique vertical light towers. Great design.
Top of 7th: Cubs Miss Their Opportunity
The Chicago Cubs finally got something resembling a rally but got no runs to show for it.
A leadoff single by Ben Zobrist ended Corey Kluber's day. Andrew Miller, the M.V.P. of the A.L.C.S. was up and ready in the bullpen and Terry Francona wasn't taking any chances. The move backfired at first, as Miller walked Kyle Schwarber on six pitches, which inexplicably brought the tying run to the plate after Chicago had struggled to get a baserunner all game.
Javier Baez loaded the bases with a single to left, but Willson Contreras flied out on a short pop-fly to center. Cleveland could have doubled Schwarber off second if Rajai Davis had noticed him having failing to wait on the bag, but Davis, who had covered a ton of ground just to get to the ball, instead threw home. Miller recovered to strike out Addison Russell and David Ross to end the inning.
David Waldstein: Wow. A totally exciting inning with as many twists and turns as some whole games I've seen. Miller gets in and out of a bases-loaded jam without surrendering a run. Was it an indication that the Cubs can get to him, or because he was rusty after not pitching since Wednesday? I say the latter, especially since he gathered himself by the final three batters.
Bottom of 6th: Lester Exits, Down 3
Jose Ramirez drove in the first run of the night way back in the first inning, and the third baseman's perfect day continued with a leadoff double that made him 3-for-3 so far. He will likely get another at-bat, which would give him the opportunity to become the 66th batter to have four hits in a World Series game.
Jon Lester recovered from the double to strike out Brandon Guyer looking and then induced a flyball out from Lonnie Chisenhall. At that point, with Roberto Perez due up, Joe Maddon came out to remove Lester from the game in favor of reliever Pedro Strop. The right-handed Strop struck Perez out looking to end the inning, stranding Ramirez.
David Waldstein: Between innings they showed a clip of the Cavaliers raising their only championship banner at Quicken Loans Arena. Fans here loved that, of course.
Lester threw 97 pitches in 5 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs. That takes his innings total on the season to 229 1/3 including the postseason. In the end, the Indians were 1 for 2 on stolen-base attempts against him. Non-factor, once again.
Top of 6th: Andrew Miller Warming Up
The game has really picked up pace, with Corey Kluber cruising through a 1-2-3 inning. He is at just 85 pitches, but the Indians have Andrew Miller up in the bullpen and may be looking to pull the plug on Kluber early in hopes of having him as rested as possible for an expected start in Game 4. Kluber is pitching on six-days rest. His last outing was on three-days rest. None of it seems to matter to him. His curveball is as good as it has been all postseason.
Game 2 Update: Because of threat of rain tomorrow, Game 2 has been moved up to 7:08 p.m. Eastern.
Bottom of 5th: Lester Is Good, but Kluber Is Better
Jon Lester finally found his groove. He retired Francisco Lindor on a grounder that appeared to travel less than a foot before David Ross picked it up and threw to first for the out. He then struck out both Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana to end the inning. While he has been a bit wild, and has been frustrated by the strike zone, Lester has actually pitched pretty well and is losing simply because Kluber has been dominant.
David Waldstein: Now that the Cavaliers game against the Knicks across the street is over, a huge throng of fans have gathered in the plaza area between the two stadiums and are watching the World Series game on two giants screens. And it's pretty chilly out there.
Top of 5th: Kluber Settling In
After going an entire half-inning without recording a strikeout, Corey Kluber got back to business with a called strike three on Chris Coghlan to start the fifth. Addison Russell flied out to center and David Ross lined out to first. Kluber has gotten more efficient and has now thrown just 73 pitches through five innings, meaning the Indians may not need to go to Andrew Miller until the 7th or 8th inning.
Jay Schreiber: This game is only four innings old, but already Miller, the Indians' tall (and basically unhittable) lefty reliever is looming. Cleveland Manager Terry Francona uses Miller to shorten the game. He brings him in in the sixth or seventh inning, gets six quick outs and protects the Indians' lead to the point wh ere the game is almost over.
Corey Kluber has been masterful so far tonight, but at the first sign of him tiring, look for Miller. And then figure the game is probably over.
Bottom of 4th: Roberto Perez Homers
With one out, Roberto Perez hit one of the most unlikely World Series home runs in history, increasing Cleveland's lead to 3-0.
The catcher, known entirely for his defense, hit .183 this season with 3 home runs, and in the postseason was 4-for-23 coming into the game. Amusingly enough, it was his second home run of the postseason, as he also hit one against Boston in the division series. Cleveland didn't get any other offense in the inning, but the damage was done. Lester has now given up more runs in this game than he had in his three previous postseason starts combined.
David Waldstein: Okay, the Cubs are facing a dominant starting pitcher who has a 3-0 lead. You know Cleveland Manager Terry Francona can go to his bullpen at the first sign of trouble, or the second. So far, the only trouble was a massive double by Schwarber. Oh, and the fact Kluber didn't have any strikeouts in the fourth. Maybe that means he is struggling.
Crowded House in Cleveland
A boisterous crowd of 38,091, standing and shouting for every pitch, packed Progressive Field for Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday.
It was an incredible turnaround for a team that finished 28th out of 30[1] major league teams in attendance during the regular season.
After setting a major league record for consecutive sellouts — with 455 between June 12, 1995, and April 4, 2001, which included hosting the 1997 All-Star Game and the 1995 and 1997 World Series — the Indians saw their attendance sputter as their postseason appearances dwindled. Progressive Field, which opened on April 4, 1994, as Jacobs Field, has undergone two major renovations ahead of the past two seasons.
Eventually, the Indians decided to remove large swaths of upper-deck seats in favor of group-seating areas and some seats in the lower bowl to add standing-room sections. They also added a two-level bar in right field called The Corner, opened the concourse to allow for views of the field and added local food stands.In all, about 6,000 seats were removed, leaving the capacity at about slightly less than 36,000. — Melissa Hoppert
Top of 4th: Schwarber's Back
Kyle Schwarber's incredible comeback was a great story the second he took the field, but with one out in the inning he doubled off the wall, just missing a home run. Considering how the rest of his teammates have done against Corey Kluber, the hit seemed especially impressive. There was little else of note in the inning, though it was the first of the game in which Kluber did not record a strikeout.
David Waldstein: Schwarber said before the game that he got the go-ahead from the doctor about a week ago. Before that, the plan was always for him to be ready for spring training. He said the doctor told him he was strong and ready to go. He said his knee feels fine, but his hands are covered with blisters from having just resumed hitting. They didn� �t seem to bother him in that at-bat. He is likely to only D.H., but he can be a real danger in the Cleveland games.
Bottom of 3rd: It's Getting Weird Here
Francisco Lindor continued his incredible postseason by singling to start the half-inning. In a truly bizarre sequence, he was caught leaving early by Lester, but even then Lester did not bother to throw the ball to first. He just stood on the mound and watched Lindor bolt back to the bag. It was so intentional and unconventional, that it made it fairly clear that not throwing to first is not just a preference but is perhaps something he feels incapable of doing. It did not matter, as Lindor took off on the next pitch and was gunned out at second by David Ross. The tag was close enough that Cleveland may have wanted to challenge it, but th ey held back and accepted the out.
Lester walked Carlos Santana, and gave up a single to Jose Ramirez, but Brandon Guyer struck out looking to end the inning.
David Waldstein: The base running game-within-the game is heating up. Lindor went way off the first-base bag and Lester could have easily had him, but did not make the throw. He faked it, but did not release the ball. Then, when Lindor did attempt to steal, he was gunned down by Ross and another deft tag by Javier Baez. That is one of the most unique plays in the game, Baez's lightning quick sweep tag. He's like a matador.
After the inning, Lester had a polite little chat with Vanover, presumably about the strike zone. Meanwhile, Lindor is having a lengthy conversation with second base umpire John Hirschbeck and showing him his right arm, scuffed with dirt.
Top of 3rd: A Record for Kluber
With Addison Russell leading off, Corey Kluber threw an absolutely nasty curveball to get yet another called strike three. Russell was the fourth straight batter to strike out, with three in a row coming with the batter caught looking. Chicago's ninth hitter, David Ross, singled, but Dexter Fowler seemed perplexed by the movement on Kluber's pitches and ended up striking out swinging. Kris Bryant was no better, flailing at a pitch in the dirt for strike three, ending the half-inning.
Kluber broke the record for strikeouts in a World Series game through three innings, with his eight breaking the previous record of seven held by Bob Gibson, Orlando Hernandez and Randy Johnson.
David Waldstein: Kluber is obviously dealing. His curveball is hellacious, but his two-seamer really reminds me of Greg Maddux's the way it cuts back over the plate from left to right. That was Maddux's principal pitch. It's almost like a little screwball. Trevor Bauer said he was "fascinated" by Kluber's version of it, and "all the science behind it."
Bottom of 2nd: Lester Helps Himself
Roberto Perez led off the half-inning and the light-hitting catcher flied out on a full-count, bringing Rajai Davis to the plate for his second at-bat. Davis hit a grounder up the middle, but Jon Lester helped his own cause by kicking it to the ground then throwing over to first for the out, proving he is physically capable of throwing to first base. Hoping to start another tw o-out rally, Jason Kipnis ended up fouling out to end the inning.
David Waldstein: Jon Lester did an excellent job of recovering from a bad first inning. He needed that badly. He got Davis and Kipnis out, preventing them from torturing him on the bases again. Kipnis stole 15 bags this year, but he is playing with a swollen left ankle. He sprained it during Cleveland's celebration in Toronto when they won the A.L. pennant. He was hobbling as recently as yesterday, but hinted he would take some painkillers to numb it.
Top of 2nd: Cubs Threaten, but Come Up Short
Handed a 2-0 lead thanks to Jon Lester's wildness and inability to hold on baserunners, Corey Kluber gave up a leadoff double to Ben Zobrist, bringing up Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber, who had not played since early April, was apparently not ready for Kluber's two-seam fastball, as he was well behind the 93 mph pitch and struck out swinging. Kluber continued his groove with called strike threes to both Javier Baez and Chris Coghlan, which stranded Zobrist.
David Waldstein: Kluber has five strikeouts in his first six outs, four of them looking, so it's time to take a look at the home plate umpire, Larry Vanover. Both pitchers and hitters have their problems with Vanover. Some claim he is inconsistent and say he is grouchy and moody behind the plate. Already, Cubs hitters seem to have been annoyed a couple times.
Tomorrow will be Chris Guccione, who is at first base tonight. If the series goes six games, Joe West will be the home plate umpire in that game. A lot of players really don't like him. They say he tries to make the game about him too much. They say he is vindictive and holds grudges. The basic idea is, don't mess with Joe West.
Bottom of 1st: Lester Gets Rattled
A ball that didn't make it all the way out of the infield scored the first run of the 2016 World Series when Jose Ramirez dinked a ball down the third-base line with the bases loaded that scored Francisco Lindor. A second run came across when Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch.
It was an odd half-inning for Jon Lester, as Chicago's ace left-hander appeared to be dealing with two quick outs to Rajai Davis and Jason Kipnis. But with two outs, Lindor, the bright spot of the Cleveland offense, got the first hit of the series with a single up the middle. He then engaged Cleveland's expected strategy by stealing second base, with a great jump afforded to him by Lester's disinterest in holding on runners.
With first base open, Lester ended up walking Mike Napoli, then walked Carlos Santana as well, at which point Ramirez was able to deliver. If not for a great catch on a foul-pop by Cubs catcher David Ross, Cleveland may have been able to inflict even more damage.
David Waldstein: This is exactly how Cleveland wanted this series to start. A National League team in an American League park.
Francisco Lindor getting on base, even with two outs, was the key to the inning, and that could be significant for the Indians against Lester. The lefty has well-known problems throwing to bases, so Lindor, who singled, took a big lead and stole second without a throw. For some reason the Dodgers did not look to take advantage of that in the N.L.C.S., but the Indians l ove to run.
The threat of the runners on base may have rattled the normally un-rattle-able Lester, who walked only 52 batters all season and hit only 6.
Jay Schreiber: Jon Lester threw a lot of pitches — 26 — in a frustrating bottom of the first inning tonight. So he'll have to get more economical as the innings mount if he wants to pitch deep into the game. In case you're wondering, the most pitches Lester threw in any game in 2016 was 118 against the Milwaukee Brewers in a 6-1 victory on Aug. 17. In this year's postseason, he made three previous starts before tonight and threw 86, 77 and 108 pitches, respectively.
Top of 1st: Kluber Blanks Cubs
Game 1 was officially under way when Corey Kluber threw a ball that missed just low to Dexter Fowler. Four pitches later he threw strike three right past Fowler for the first out of the game, freezing up Chicago's leadoff hitter with a 91-mph sinker that isn't even the nastiest pitch he has in his arsenal.
It was more of the same with Kris Bryant, who thought he had drawn ball four but got rung up by home plate umpire Larry Vanover on a 95 mph fastball that appeared to be low and outside. The two at-bats established that the teams would be working with a big strike zone on a day where two aces are pitching.
Anthony Rizzo at least put the ball in play, but he popped out to t hird to end the inning. An inauspicious start for the Cubs offense.
Here's a quick guide to Game 1:
■ Both teams will start their aces. Jon Lester of the Cubs, a four-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, facing 2014 Cy Young winner Corey Kluber of the Indians.
■ Lester is notoriously bad at holding on runners, so the fleet Indians will likely try to take advantage by stealing bases early and often.
■ With the game in Cleveland, the designated hitter will be in play, and the Cubs plan to start Kyle Schwarber[2], who has not played since April 7.
■ The best-of-seven series will end one of the two longest active World Series droughts, as the Cubs have not won since 1908 and the Indians have not won since 1948.
No 'Wild Thing,' but Some Fan Favorites
Despite fans clamoring for Charlie Sheen, aka Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn from the 1989 film "Major League," to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for Games 1 or 2 of the World Series in Cleveland, the Indians went with few fan favorites instead.
Kenny Lofton and Carlos Baerga, teammates on the 1995 American League champion Indians, will do the honors as the Indians begin their qu est to win their first World Series since 1948. Their opponent, the Chicago Cubs, have not won a title since 1908.
Sheen offered his services on Twitter, but the Indians, in consultation with Major League Baseball, decided to go with former players.
Still, Lofton, a six-time All-Star who played for the Indians on three occasions, was no sure thing. He was on standby for a flight from Los Angeles to Cleveland late Monday until a Cleveland man gave his seat up[3].
The former Indians Manager Mike Hargrove, who led the club to its last two World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997, and Joe Charboneau, the 1980 American League rookie of the year, along with representatives from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, will deliver the official game balls to the mound for games 1 and 2 of the 112th World Series. — Melissa Hoppert
Indians and Cavs (and Cubs) Have Cleveland Abuzz
Beginning before noon, fans began to pour into Cleveland's city center, and by 2 p.m. the area was abuzz with anticipation of not only Game 1 of the World Series but a championship ring ceremony for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Some wore the red, white and blue colors of the Indians, some wore the black, maroon and gold of the Cavaliers, filling up local taverns and restaurants and talking about the upcoming events.
Everybody had something on to show their support and allegiance. Shawn Edwards, a 32-year-old mortgage loan officer, wore an Indians cap and a Cavs jacket as he walked between the two stadiums.
"I'm confused," he said with a laugh. "This is so surreal. It's the best day in Cleveland history."
Jeff Monteith, 36, and Kim Monteith, both physicians from Cleveland, said they arrived at 2 in preparation for the World Series game, and the night before watched the film, Major League, a comedy about the Indians.
"I shed a tear," Kim Monteith said as they walked toward the stadiums amid a sea of fellow supporters.
Progressive Field, where the Indians play, and Quicken Loans Arena, the home of the Cavs, sit next to each other downtown. A plaza and a grassy square sit between them and a fan can walk from one to the other in about 95 paces (108 for Cubs fans).
Three stages were set up before the game with live music and sets for the national broadcasters, with thousands of people milling about more than an hour before the baseball game. The crowd thinned out a bit around 6:40 when fans with Cavaliers tickets entered their arena for the ring ceremony, which was scheduled for 7 pm. It was originally set for 7:30, but the Cavs moved it up because of the baseball game.
In almost every direction there was a celebration, except along Ontario St., where a small group of protesters campaigned against the Indians name and Chief Wahoo logo.
About 10 people holding signs and chanting, "Change the name, change the logo," stood on the sidewalk as some fans, clearly inebriated, walked by spewing expletive-laden abuse at them. — David Waldstein
2003: The World Series That Almost Was
This World Series is a variation on the one that almost took place in 2003, but didn't. Back then, the Cubs, who at that point had not won a championship 95 years, and the Red Sox, who had not won one in 85, had an excellent shot of meeting each other in what would have been a mind-boggling October showdown. But five outs from clinching the National League pennant, the Cubs blew a three-run lead over the Marlins — thanks to Steve Bartman, an error on a double-play ball, bad relief pitching and all the customary bad luck with which the Cubs have long been associated.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox were also five outs from clinching the American League pennant when they squandered a three-run lead over the Yankees by not having the good sense to take a tiring Pedro Martinez out of the game. So Cubs vs. Red Sox never took place. But Cubs vs. Indians is a nice substitute. The Cubs' title drought has now grown to 108 years, the Indians' is an impressive 68. Combined that's 176 years without a title, making this a World Series unlike any other. — Jay Schreiber
Continue reading the main story[4]References
- ^ 28th out of 30 (www.espn.com)
- ^ Cubs plan to start Kyle Schwarber (www.nytimes.com)
- ^ Cleveland man gave his seat up (www.clevesc ene.com)
- ^ Continue reading the main story (www.nytimes.com)
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