CHICAGO _ The unseasonably comfortable weather combined with stiff winds blowing to left and center fields Friday night seemed ripe for the Cubs to display a power surge.
But despite favorable hitting elements and the joyous atmosphere of the first World Series game at Wrigley Field in 71 seasons, the Cubs found themselves harnessed and baffled.
For the second time in three games, the Cubs were blanked as Josh Tomlin and three relievers allowed only five hits in a 1-0 loss that gave the Indians a 2-1 advantage in this best-of-seven Series before a disappointed crowd of 41,703.
The Cubs put the tying and winning runs in scoring position with two out in the ninth inning, but Cody Allen struck out Javier Baez to cap an 0-for-7 performance for the Cubs with runners in scoring position.
The sense of urgency in this game wasn't lost on Indians manager Terry Francona and Cubs counterpart Joe Maddon, as Tomlin and Kyle Hendricks were pulled before they could qualify for a victory, marking the first time in a postseason game that both starters were pulled before the sixth in a scoreless game.
But the Indians got more mileage out of formidable left-hander Andrew Miller, who thwarted a Cubs rally in the fifth and then earned the victory when pinch-hitter Coco Crisp hit a two-out single off Carl Edwards Jr. to score pinch-runner Michael Martinez with the lone run in the seventh.
The Cubs, who advanced only three runners past first base, missed a promising opportunity with two out in the seventh after Jorge Soler hit a high fly down the right field line that eluded Lonnie Chisenhall for a triple.
But Baez grounded to short to end the threat.
The lack of baserunners prompted Maddon to use Kyle Schwarber as a pinch-hitter with one on and no outs in the eighth, but Schwarber _ who wasn't cleared medically to play the outfield despite his surprising recovery from his left knee injury _ popped to short.
Despite not allowing a run for his second consecutive start, Hendricks pitched in various forms of traffic. He ran into a first-and-third jam in the first but weaved his way out of trouble when he picked Francisco Lindor off first base and struck out Mike Napoli.
Hendricks' best moment occurred in the fourth when he made a back-handed stop of a one-hop throw from Russell while covering first base that prevented Lindor from scoring, and then he struck out Roberto Perez to end the threat.
Maddon elected to pull Hendricks after he hit Jason Kipnis to load the bases with one out and Lindor coming up in the fifth.
Reliever Justin Grimm, who threw only 31/3 postseason innings before Friday _ the fewest of any Cubs pitcher on the Series roster _ induced Lindor to ground into an inning-ending double play and celebrated with arguably the biggest fist pump in Wrigley history.
Unfortunately for the Cubs, they failed to generate enough offense against Tomlin, who constantly kept hitters off-balance with an assortment of curveballs and off-speed pitches.
The Cubs placed only one runner in scoring position against Tomlin until Jorge Soler led off the fifth with a single and moved to second on Baez's soft grounder.
There was plenty of anticipation of a Miller-Schwarber showdown after Russell grounded to third for the second out.
But Maddon summoned left-handed hitter Miguel Montero to the plate to bat for Grimm as Francona countered with Miller as part of a double switch.
Montero ripped a line drive but right at Chisenhall in right for the final out.
The first Series game at Wrigley since 1945 brought plenty of pre-game excitement and anticipation as fans crowded the perimeter of the park as early as six hours before the game.
