CLEVELAND _ During the regular season there was no pressure.
During the postseason there was no pressure.
The Indians were underdogs at every step, overlooked because they have no stars save for their manager, seemingly no hope because their starting rotation was down to three.
But after they blew a 3-1 advantage in the World Series and allowed the Cubs to send it to Wednesday night's deciding game at Progressive Field with a 9-3 victory Tuesday, the Tribe finds itself in an unfamiliar position.
The heat is on.
The Indians are on the verge of getting "Cavaliered," as the city's NBA team rallied from a 3-1 deficit against the Warriors in The Finals in June.
They are poised to drop three in a row to America's darlings, who haven't won a title in 108 years.
But the Cubs should feel the heat as well. According to baseball-reference.com, it will be just the fifth Game 7 this century and the 42nd overall, with road teams going 21-20. The Cubs' drought has proven a heavy burden to bear. Only six teams in major league history have come back to win the Series after falling behind 3-1.
There's no one I'd rather have on the mound for the Indians in Game 7 of the World Series than Corey Kluber.
There's no trio I'd want coming out of the Tribe bullpen better than Bryan Shaw, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.
There hasn't been a Party at Napoli's in the past eight postseason games, so the Indians first baseman is certainly due for a home run.
The Indians' .219 postseason batting average going into Tuesday night's Game 6 is a concern. But more worrisome for the Tribe is its lack of timely hitting.
There were multiple chances in a 3-2 Game 5 loss in Wrigley Field. The Indians loaded the bases with two out in the fourth inning of Game 6 against Jake Arrieta, but rookie Tyler Naquin struck out. They entered the night batting .233 with runners in scoring position in the postseason, a significant drop from their .261 average in the regular season.
The Indians have scored two or fewer runs in six of their last 11 postseason games.
But on Tuesday night it wasn't just the hitting. Naquin gave the Cubs two first-inning runs when a miscommunication with right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall allowed a ball off the bat of Addison Russell to fall in for a dubious double. Naquin tripped on Kris Bryant's flyout in the third caught by Chisenhall.
At that point the Indians were showing their youth.
Things should be different in Game 7 with Kluber on the mound against Cubs right-hander Kyle Hendricks (1-1, 1.31 ERA).
Kluber, 30, carries a 4-1 record with a 0.89 ERA in the postseason. That ERA is the second best in major league history by a pitcher who has thrown at least 30 postseason innings.
He's allowed a total of one run on nine hits and struck out 15 in beating the Cubs in Games 1 and 4. More significantly, the Indians have scored 13 runs on 20 hits in those two games.
Indians fans have to hope that everything second baseman Jason Kipnis said about Kluber after Saturday night's Game 4 victory holds true in Game 7.
"He doesn't walk people, he competes, he fields his position, keeps his composure, he doesn't blame anything on his defense. Add that to his repertoire (and) how nasty he is, he's exactly what you want out of an ace," Kipnis said.
For anyone else in a Game 7 atmosphere dripping with tension, that might be too much to ask. But not of Kluber. Considering his poise, intelligence and dominating postseason, there's no one I trust more.
