Lester’s quirks might play right into Indians’ hands

We don’t need any more stats to illustrate how much time has passed since the Chicago Cubs won a World Series, but here’s a fun one: They used four pitchers in five games against the Detroit Tigers when they won their 1908 title.

Orval Overall, Mordecai Brown, Jack Pfiester and Ed Reulbach combined to pitch 45 innings with a 2.60 ERA. One day after relieving Reulbach, Overall threw a complete game in Game 2. Brown threw a shutout in Game 4, and Overall, on two days’ rest after throwing nine innings, threw a shutout in the clincher.

We now live in world where Andrew Miller enters games with two out and nobody on in the fifth.

Somebody’s long streak will end after this World Series, which begins tonight in Cleveland. If the Indians win, they will do so for the first time since 1948, when Larry Doby hit .318 against the Boston Braves, and Bob Feller and Satchel Paige both pitched. Should the Chicago Cubs win, Theo Epstein will break another curse, this one more than a century old.

Jon Lester will start Game 1 for the Cubs against an Indians team well-suited to take advantage of his inability to consistently throw to bases or make pickoff throws. He and David Ross better managed the issue this season. After 44 of 55 baserunners stole successfully against Lester last year (80 percent success), 28 of 41 (68 percent) stole on him this year. Lester has allowed two steals in the playoffs thus far, to the Los Angeles Dodgers Howie Kendrick and Justin Turner in Game 5 of the NLCS.

But the Dodgers stole 45 bases this season, tied for 27th in baseball. Their 63 percent success rate was tied for 26th The Indians stole 134, fourth in MLB, and their 81 percent rate ranked behind only one other team. Rajai Davis led the way with 43, and Jason Kipnis, Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez each stole at least 15.

The Dodgers tried, in Game 5, to capitalize on Lester’s yips. Joc Pederson bunted back to the mound with two outs. Lester fielded it and bounced the throw to Anthony Rizzo, but he recorded the out and glared into the Dodgers dugout as he walked off the field.

“We’ve seen just about every trick in the book this year with guys trying to mess with him, and, when they do, it kind of fires him up,” Ross told reporters after the game.

Pirates coaches

The best base coaches do more than send or hold runners.

Washington Nationals first-base coach Davey Lopes, acknowledged as one of the best, makes his runners better by finding and passing on the smallest tells in a pitcher’s delivery. Kansas City Royals third-base coach Mike Jirschele mapped Jose Bautista’s throwing tendencies to the point that he snuck home a run against Toronto in the 2015 playoffs.

So by firing third-base coach Rick Sofield and reassigning first-base coach Nick Leyva, the Pirates could be seeking upgrades in more than just waving runners home. Sofield also was the baserunning coach and worked with the outfielders. Leyva coached the infielders and coordinated the defensive alignment.

This isn’t to say the Pirates ran well — they didn’t, ranking anywhere from average to poor in stolen-base percentage, taking the extra base and outs made on the bases. But the Pirates will have to replace more than just the men who stand on the corners.

Stock up

Kyle Hendricks. He beat Clayton Kershaw in an elimination game by throwing 7⅓ scoreless innings in Game 6. He allowed one run and five hits in 12⅔ innings during two NLCS starts.

Stock down

Jose Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki, who combined to go 5 for 36 with one extrabase hit in the Toronto Blue Jays’ loss to the Indians in the ALCS.