Game one was supposed to be a pitching duel between Corey Kluber and Jon Lester. But Lester had trouble holding runners on (which the Cubs couldn't really do) and the Indians ran with it. Roberto Pérez hit two home runs to power the Tribe offense in a 6-0 win in the opener. He became the first ever ninth-place hitter with two homers in a World Series game, the first Indians player to hit two homers in a World Series game, and the first Puerto Rican-born player to hit two homers in a World Series game. So yeah, Perez was in a hitters groove in the first game. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen finished the victory for the Indians despite Miller having to pitch out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh. But that's been something that has been a major strength of the Indians all playoffs long. If the offense gave the Tribe a lead, it was almost a lock that the pen would shut the door. They did just that in game one.
Game two saw Chicago bring their bats, as Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo got the party started, giving the Cubs an early lead. Ben Zobrist, Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell helped add to the offense, powering the Cubs to a 5-1 win to even the series. Jake Arrieta went five and two thirds, striking out six. Aroldis Chapman entered in the eight to finish the game for the Cubs, mowing down Tribe hitters left and right. The win marked the Cubs' first World Series win since 1945 and tied up the series at one game all. The win marked Indians manager Terry Francona's first loss in ten World Series games. Game three, the first World Series game played at Wrigley Field since 1945, but for some reason, the Cubs bats failed to show up. They were held to just five hits in the 3rd game. The game's only run came off a Coco Crisp RBI single that scored Michael Martínez in the seventh inning. Josh Tomlin, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw, and Cody Allen combined to shut out the Cubs. Allen earned his sixth postseason save as Javier Báez struck out swinging to end the game, leaving the tying and winning runs in scoring position (the last two strikes Baez swong at pitches that were out of the strikezone and could have loaded the bases had he just held his swing). It was the fourth time in which the Cubs had lost in a shutout during the 2016 postseason.
If that wasn't bad enough, the Cubs got spanked by Kluber in game four. Cleveland walked away with a 7-2 win and a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Chicago did score in the opening inning, but for the remainder of the game (which only went six innings for Kluber) Cory shut the door on the Cubs. Jason Kipnis put the Indians ahead 7–1 with a three-run home run in the seventh, although the Cubs got one run back in the eighth, on a Dexter Fowler home run off Andrew Miller, the first run he gave up in this post-season. With Cleveland up 3-1 in the series, it didn't really look good for the Cubs. It was a long shot, but there have been five other times in history where a team had come back from down three games to one in the World Series and won the series. It happened in 1925 (Pittsburgh Pirates over Washington Senators), 1958 (New York Yankees over Milwaukee Braves), 1968 (Detroit Tigers over St. Louis Cardinals), 1979 (Pittsburgh Pirates over Baltimore Orioles) and 1985 (Kansas City Royals over St. Louis Cardinals). It has been done before. So the Cubs had to do what hasn't been done since the 1979 Pirates and that is win the final two games of the series on the road.
Game five saw Chicago squeak out a 3-2 win to pull within 3-2 in the series. Chapman got another long save, this win being the first World Series win in Chicago for the Cubs since October 10th, 1945. Game six goes back to Cleveland and the Cubs brought their offense this time. Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and Anthony Rizzo all homered in this game as the Cubs put a whooping on Tribe starter Josh Tomlin. Addison Russell drove in six of the nine runs for the Cubs in this game, which tied a World Series single-game record. Jake Arrieta became the first National League starting pitcher to notch two road wins in a single World Series since the St. Louis Cardinals' Bob Gibson in 1967. But for some reason, Joe Madden again wanted to use Aroldis Chapman in this baseball game, which was totally pointless in a blowout game. I know he wanted to leave a mark on this game but it showed me how little trust he had in the rest of the pen in the playoffs. That would loom large in game seven.
After Dexter Fowler gave the Cubs an early lead and David Ross added on to it (in his last ever game) with the long ball, it looked like it was a lock for the Cubs. Then, with a 5-1 lead late, it looked like it was a lock for Chicago. Cleveland wouldn't quite and were down 6-3 going into the 8th. The Indians tied the game in said inning, thanks to an RBI double by Brandon Guyer and a monster, line drive, two-run home run by Rajai Davis off Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman. See what happened when you over use your closer. He gets burned. So as we get ready for extra innings, Cleveland gets hit with rain, causing a 17-minute rain delay. This would be huge for the Cubs and hurt the Tribe. Cleveland had the momentum going into the 10th, but they got cooled off, while Chicago was able to regroup themselves. Chicago scored two runs in the top of the tenth inning on a double by Zobrist and a single by Miguel Montero. The Indians scored a run on a single by Davis in the bottom of the tenth inning, but Mike Montgomery finished the game for Chicago, ending the series. Ben Zobrist won the World Series MVP award.
Game seven had all the high drama you could ask for. Drama of the highest order. Late game heroics, clutch hitting. it had everything. One thing that will I think stick with most fans in this series was Joe Madden and his mismanagement of the Pitching Staff. He showed a total lack of trust in his bullpen for guys other then Aroldis Chapman. Had the Tribe won the series, Joe Madden would have gone into the history books as a true goat instead of looking like a genius. It leaves one scratching ones head what exactly Madden was thinking at times during this series.
It doesn't really matter at the end of the day, the Chicago Cubs are the World Champions!
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