Cubs Even Series

The Cubs evened up the World Series at one game each with a 5-1 win Wednesday night.  I would not describe their performance as flawless, but they were in control throughout the game.  First off, Arrieta was on his game.  He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.  He was, however, a little wild at times and he definitely ran up his pitch count.  Arrieta is definitely not the guy he was during the Cy Young run last year or earlier this season, but he is good enough to keep his team competitive deep into game.  He has developed a tendency to overthrow some pitches in the dirt when he gets in trouble.  This cost him a fun in the sixth when a wild pitch brought home the only Indians run.  Still, this outing was his best of the post-season by far.


Sticking with the pitching, it seems Maddon is much more comfortable turning the Indians switch-hitters around to the right side.  Montgomery bailed out Arrieta in the sixth and pitched two innings of very effective relief.  Chapman finished off the last four outs in typical Chapman fashion.

On the hitting side, I guess the story is Schwarber who continued to have productive at-bats and hit two singles with men on base that drove in runs.  Schwarber is rapidly becoming the story of this series the new Roy Hobbs.  Who knew he could bounce back from that terrible injury and still play in October, let alone recover his batting form?   There is some talk of playing him in the outfield when the series returns to Chicago.  I don't see an advantage to this and there are certainly risks involved.  Also, Schwarber is not exactly the greatest left-fielder when he is completely healthy, so his being in the field could pose not just personal risks, but risks for the team.  Another consideration is that he would almost certainly have to be replaced with a defensive substitution late in the game.  That's when his bat might do the most good.  All in all, the Cubs should not force matters.

The Cubs must be the most irritating team for opposing pitchers to face.  They just grind out those at-bats relentlessly.  Bauer threw 87 pitches in less than four innings.  The Cubs must have had nearly twenty men on base in the course of the game what with all the walks and errors and nine hits.  Granted they left thirteen men on base, but they scored often enough to win comfortably.

Francona has announced he will go with a three man rotation through the series.  He hasn't a lot of options, but this is going to work to the Cubs advantage.  Kluber came back on short rest against Toronto in the ALCS and lost Game 4.  Granted he pitched well, but he still lost, lasting only five innings.  The match-ups from here on out are very much to the Cubs advantage.  You have to like their chances.