When Cubs need him most, Bryant steps up
The MVP is still largely MIA.
When he does make an appearance, however, he makes it count.
Kris Bryant salvaged the Chicago Cubs’ first World Series appearance in 71 years with his second hit in five games, a solo home run that sparked a threerun fourth inning. That was all the offense the Cubs needed, their 3-2 victory staving off elimination for at least one more game — and giving them their first World Series game win in Chicago since 1945.
Make no mistake, the Cubs still face incredible odds. Only six teams have come back from 3-1 deficits, the last two games will be played in Cleveland, and the Cubs offense continues to sputter like a car in the Chicago winter. Bryant, Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Dexter Fowler — they’re all still struggling. That won’t cut it against an Indians team that is returning to its adoring fan base in Cleveland and has a manager who has been positively witchlike in making all the right moves this postseason.
But the Cubs have shown all postseason that their momentum can switch with one pitch, and this might have been just what Bryant needed.
Bryant, all but assured of adding the National League MVP to last year’s rookie of the year honors, was downright brilliant in the first two series of the postseason. While the rest of the heart of the order looked befuddled or overwhelmed, he looked as if he had been doing this for years.
But once the World Series began, Bryant suddenly looked every bit of his 24 years. He had one hit in the first four games. While he had some decent atbats, too often he looked as if he was pressing, trying to live up to his MVP status.
A pair of errors in Game 4 — in the same inning, no less — didn’t help.
But Bryant looked like a different player Sunday night, drilling a 1-1 pitch from Trevor Bauer into the left-field stands to tie the score at 1. Anthony Rizzo followed with a double off the wall, and Russell and David Ross provided RBI.
Sure, Bryant didn’t do much else at the plate, drawing a walk in his next at-bat and then getting called out on strikes in the seventh.
But a brief appearance of the Kris Bryant of old is better than nothing. And on this night, it gave the Cubs exactly what they needed.