That brought up Chicago's trio of struggling young hitters. Addison Russell tapped a ball down the third-base line for a run-scoring infield single that gave Chicago the lead. Jason Heyward struck out on a checked swing for the first out of the inning, but then Javier Baez fooled everyone with a bunt to third that loaded the bases.
David Ross, who is hoping to extend the series and his career — he has already said this will be his last season — helped his own cause with a deep sacrifice fly to left to extend the Indians' lead to 3-1. Lester struck out to end the inning, but Wrigley is alive again and he's now pitching with a lead.
David Waldstein: Cubs strike back, but you could tell people here wanted to see Kyle Schwarber hit for either Heyward or Ross. Maddon might have wanted to keep Heyward in for his defense once he had the lead, and maybe he didn't want to remove Ross because he is Lester's personal catcher. I would have used Schwarber for sure and tried to blow the game open right there. Seize the moment.
Top of 4th: Another Defensive Adventure
Jason Kipnis tried to bunt for a single, which was certainly a decent idea since Jon Lester is so wary of throwing to first base. But the ball only traveled a few inches before David Ross picked it up and threw him out. Francisco Lindor was retired on a soft popup and Mike Napoli popped up into foul territory on the first-base side. Ross and Anthony Rizzo once againg converged on the ball, but this time Ross was able to hang onto it himself, even after Rizzo mistakenly bumped him to the ground.
David Waldstein: Ross and Rizzo are quite a foul-ball tandem. They could take that act on the road. In fact, they are hoping to.
There is something going on down the right field line that is making observant Cubs fans very uncomfortable. Andrew Miller, the Indians almost-unhittable reliever, is on the mound warming up with a towel. When he's done with the towel, he'll start throwing warmup pitches.
Bottom of 3rd: Bauer Cruising Through Cubs' Lineup
Trevor Bauer retired David Ross with a groundout to shortstop. He struck out Jon Lester on three pitches, and then got De xter Fowler to fly out to right to end the inning. This is a completely different pitcher from Game 2. Despite the efficiency, it was almost a letdown that the half-inning did not include a sensational defensive play after the memorable moments from the previous inning.
Top of 3rd: Heyward Climbs the Wall for an Out
Roberto Perez started things off with a towering popup that traveled only about 10 feet in terms of forward movement before Kris Bryant was able to catch it. Trevor Bauer then managed to make his opponent work with a seven-pitch at-bat before hitting a flyball into foul territory that Jason Heyward climbed the wall to snare for the second out of the inning.
It is worth noting after such a play that Heyward's defense was a big reason he was given a $184 million contract by the Cubs.
David Waldstein: Cubs Manager Joe Maddon made Cubs batting practice optional Sunday, probably in the hope of getting his hitters to chill out a bit. It was also a way to promote normalcy. Baseball teams often don't take batting practice on Sundays during the regular season, especially when it is a day game. Indians Manager Terry Francona said that it was good because football was on TV, and the players love to watch the games.
Bottom of 2nd: With a Lead, Bauer Gets Aggressive
Given a one-run lead, Trevor Bauer got Ben Zobrist to fly out to left for the first out. He ran the count full against Addison Russell, but the young shortstop was able to win the battle with a grou nder right up the middle for a single. That brought up Jason Heyward, who has struggled for much of the season and postseason but had two hits last night. But Heyward, a patient hitter who typically has a strong knowledge of the strike zone, struck out looking. With two outs, Bauer toyed with Javier Baez, throwing a 1-0 strike past him before throwing consecutive pitches way out of the strike zone and watching the young second baseman flail at them wildly to end the inning. While Bauer has had his struggles, the at-bat against Baez in particular showed some veteran moxy.
Top of 2nd: Ramirez's Blast Puts Indians on Top
The Indians get on the board as Jose Ramirez hit a deep two-out home run to left field that once again quieted the normally raucous crowd at Wrigley Field.
The scoring play was obviously the most important moment of the inning, but it overshadowed a truly odd play. With one out, Carlos Santana popped up into foul territory and Davis Ross nearly got under it before being blocked by a television camera. He tipped the ball with his glove, but as it was about to fall to the ground first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who had also been in pursuit, corralled it.
David Waldstein: Jose Ramirez homers and the Indians have that coveted early lead, which they are famously reluctant to hand back. Before the game, Terry Francona was asked what the key to the game was. He laughed and said, "To get the lead and let them face the dominant relievers. It's really not rocket science. Joe knows that and so do it. If it was (rocket science), they'd probably have two other managers."
This helps explain why Francona is such a great manager. But don't think he isn't prepared. He maps out every possible scenario and decision before the game begins and knows how he intends to address them. That kind of decisiveness rubs off on the players and makes them trust him implicitly.
Bottom of 1st: Bauer Matches Lester's Intensity
After watching Jon Lester cruise through the top of the 1st, Trevor Bauer showed some nastiness of his own. He caught Dexter Fowler looking with a strike three that was fairly high in the zone. Bauer then set up Kris Bryant in the next at-bat with a similar pitch high in the zone before throwing a low curveball right past him for strike three. Chicago's No. 3 hitter, Anthony Rizzo, the sixth batter of the game, became the first to not strike out, but he popped out to end the inning.
David Waldstein: Trevor Bauer looks so much sharper tonight than he did in Game 2. His curveball, which was useless his last time out, is crisp and he is throwing it for strikes. His fastball looks better, too. Bauer is throwing on three-days rest of the first time and Terry Francona said he thought it would help him. Based on how everything else Francona has done this postseason has worked to perfect, you can count on Bauer throwing a perfect game.
Need we remind you, Bauer's entire October was thrown into chaos when he cut the pinkie finger on his pitching hand while playing with a drone before the first game of the ALCS.
Top of 1st: Lester Off to Strong Start
Jon Lester is clearly fired up. He got Game 5 started with a first-pitch strike to Rajai Davis. Five pitches later he struck Davis out on a nasty pitch that had the leadoff man flailing at a low pitch. He then needed only a combined seven pitches to strike out Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor to end an overwhelmingly dominant half-inning.
David Waldstein: Tone-setting first half-inning by Jon Lester. Before he came onto the field, the P.A. system blasted the "Rocky theme." I thought Cleveland was the underdog, but whatever, it's a great song.
Jason Kipnis, the Chicagoland kid who grew up as a Cubs fan, was booed when he came to the plate. That was not because he was a neighbor of Steve Bartman. It was because of his three-run home run, double, single and run scored in Game 4. I bet he loved hearing every boo from his former neighbors.
What to Expect in Game 5
■ Chicago's Jon Lester, who pitched well but was outdueled by Corey Kluber in Game 1, will try to rescue the Cubs' season in a matchup against Trevor Bauer, who did not make it out of the fourth inning in a Game 2 loss.
■ With the Cubs on the brink of elimination, and Bauer representing a below-average option as a starter for the Indians, the bullpens for both teams will be called upon at the first sign of trouble. The Indians' Andrew Miller and Cody Allen have the ability to effectively shorten the game to five or six innings, so the margin of error for the Cubs is small.
■ The Cubs' offense has been missing Kyle Schwarber, who carried the team in Games 1 and 2. In his lone at-bat since the series moved to Wrigley Field, he popped up in the infield in Game 3.
■ Francisco Lindor has been Cleveland's top hitter with 17 hits. With three more he would tie Sandy Alomar for the franchise record for a single postseason. Alomar had 20 in 1997.
■ In the wild-card era, the team with the best record in baseball has made the World Series nine times, but have only won four titles. So the Cubs, after leading the majors with 103 wins, would not be much of an outlier if they were unable to win. That being said, a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series is hardly insurmountable. Just ask the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It's Cold and Tense at Wrigley
It is cold and clear here at Wrigley Field, with a little breeze blowing in from left field. My phone says 54 degrees, but it feels much colder out in the left field auxiliary press box. If there are any typos, chalk it up to frozen fingers.
Most of the fans are in their seats and Jon Lester is in the outfield playing long toss. The Cubs have placed much of their hope to avoid extinction in his capable hands for Game 5. The fans are going through their usual routines. They started filling up Wrigleyville before noon, but their mood was decidedly less festive and cocky than it was before Game 3.
I rode the elevator in my hotel with a couple decked out in Cubs garb this morning. They were both staring at the floor and I asked if they were nervous. The man didn't even look up. He just nodded and said, "Yup." — David Waldstein
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