Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Tribe trounces Cubs Kluber, Perez, Indians beat Chicago in opener
CLEVELAND — Corey Kluber got the Cleveland Indians off to a great start and Roberto Perez finished off the Chicago Cubs in their first World Series game since 1945.
Kluber pitched neatly into the seventh inning, Perez hit two home runs and the Indians beat the Cubs 6-0 in the opener Tuesday night. AL Championship Series MVP Andrew Miller escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh and got out of trouble in the eighth, preserving a 3-0 lead.
In a matchup between the teams with baseball’s longest championship droughts, the Indians scored twice in the first inning off October ace Jon Lester and were on their way.
Perez drove in four runs — he became the first No. 9 batter to homer twice in a Series game, and the first Indians player to accomplish the feat. He hit a threerun drive to put it away.
Francisco Lindor added three hits, helping Cleveland manager Terry Francona to improve to 9-0 in the Series. Francona’s success includes sweeps by his Boston teams in 2004 and ‘07.
The Game 1 winner has taken the title in the last six Series and 17 of 19.
Trevor Bauer, trying to come back from a sliced pinkie, starts Game 2 for the Indians on Wednesday night against Jake Arrieta. Because the forecast called for an increased chance of
rain later in the evening, Major League Baseball took the extraordinary step of moving up the first pitch by an hour to 7:08 p.m.
Kluber struck out eight in the first three innings. He combined with Miller and Cody Allen to fan 15.
With the Indians hoping for their first title since 1948 and the Cubs seeking their first since 1908, Lester stumbled in the opening inning.
Cleveland loaded the bases with two outs, Jose Ramirez had a run-scoring swinging bunt single and Brandon Guyer was hit by a pitch.
Lester had been 3-0 in three Series starts with a 0.43 ERA.
Perez, who had three homers in 153 at-bats during the regular season, connected in the fourth for a 3-0 lead. His drive in the eighth was his third homer this postseason.
Teams that combined for 174 seasons of futility, America’s biggest droughts since the Great Plains’ Dust Bowl of the 1930s, captivated even many non-baseball fans.
On a night of civic pride, LeBron James and the NBA’s Cavaliers received their championship rings next door prior to their season opener, and Cleveland hosted a World Series opener for the first time.
The Cubs had not played in the Series since five weeks after Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender ending World War II.
Kluber, whose win in the All-Star Game gave the AL home-field advantage on the Series, improved to 3-1 in the postseason and lowered his ERA to a sparkling 0.74. He is on track to start Games 4 and 7 in the manner of an oldstyle ace.
He was pitching on six days’ rest this time, and his two-seam fastball was darting through the strike zone. He was helped by plate umpire Larry Vanover, whose generous calls on the low, outside corner contributed to 11 called strikeouts, six against Cubs batters.
Kluber struck out nine in six innings and walked none. He stranded Ben Zobrist after a leadoff double in the second and David Ross following a one-out single in the third.
Kyle Schwarber, making a surprise return in his first big league game since tearing knee ligaments on April 7, doubled off the right-field wall in the fourth — a drive kept in by a stiff wind on a 50-degree night. Kluber then got Baez to fly out.