Cubs trip Indians to level W Series
Chicago’s Jake Arrieta was almost unhittable and the middle of the Cubs lineup delivered at the plate in a 5-1 Game Two win over the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday which leveled the best-of-seven World Series.
Dazzling Cy Young winner Arrieta used his repertoire of fastballs, cutters, sinkers and sliders to baffle the Indians as he threw 5- 1/ 3 innings of no- hit ball before Jason Kipnis doubled with one out in the sixth. While Cubs manager Joe Maddon hailed his “great stuff”, Arrieta said he had focused on throwing with less effort. “I wanted to come out and pitch my game. I tried not to pitch with over-effort, trying to take my foot off the gas a little bit and throw some quality breaking stuff,” said Arrieta. “I was able to spin the ball in the zone, and in and out of the zone well and keep them off balance with the sinker pretty much all night.” Arrieta and relievers Mike Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman combined on a four- hitter on a chilly night on the shores of Lake Erie to ensure the Cubs headed back to Chicago for the next three games with the series all square.
Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber, the numbers three through five hitters in Chicago’s lineup, combined for five hits, four runs scored and four runs batted in after the hard-hitting Cubs were blanked 6-0 in Game One in Cleveland.
In contrast to the overpowering pitching from the Cubs, Cleveland used six relievers after removing starter Trevor Bauer in the fourth. The seven Indians pitchers issued a combined nine hits and eight walks with the normally reliable second baseman Kipnis making two errors.
“There was traffic all night,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of all the baserunners for the Cubs. “For us to win, we generally need to play a clean game and we didn’t do that.”