Final thoughts
Read our game report here:
So the Cubs have defeated the Indians in Game 6, which means we have one more precious game of baseball left. I guess this series was always meant to go to seven games. What this game lacked in drama, it seemed to be all but finished after the Russell grand slam, it felt way more tense than any six run game should ever be. I guess it comes down to how high the stakes are for both teams.
In any case that will end today’s liveblog, but stay tuned here at the Guardian for continued coverage as the World Series comes to a close. I want to thank everybody for following along with us today, particular everybody who contributed emails and tweets (I’m sorry I couldn’t fit all of them in). Ciao!
Updated
The Chicago Cubs have forced a Game 7 in the World Series!
Chicago Cubs win Game 6!
Cubs 9-3 Indians, FINAL
Santana takes to second on defensive indifference as Kipnis takes a strike. 0-1. On 0-1 he pops up. Addison Russell handles the pop up to end the inning.
Cubs 9-3 Indians, bottom 9th
So, okay. Two out, Santana on first. Travis Wood on the mound. Jason Kipnis is at the plate.
Cubs 9-3 Indians, bottom 9th
Strop loses Carlos Santana who takes first base. Why did Maddon lose faith in this guy again?
Speak of the devil, here comes Maddon to relieve him.
Roberto Perez singles in a run, Cubs 9-3 Indians
Cubs 9-3 Indians, bottom 9th
One down. Roberto Perez is at the plate. Strop’s first pitch is wild, allowing Guyer to move up to 2nd (not that this really matters in this situation). On a 1-2 count, he hits a line drive single that scores Guyer but…. HE GETS THROWN OUT AT SECOND FOR THE SECOND OUT!
Cubs 9-2 Indians, bottom 9th
Rajai Davis hits a hanging slider but it doesn’t quite get out of the ballpark. Instead of a 2 run home run it’s the first out of the inning.
Cubs 9-2 Indians, bottom 9th
So Guyer’s at first with nobody out and the new pitcher is.. Pedro Strop.
Cubs 9-2 Indians, bottom 9th
Not exactly sure why Chapman is still out here but whatever. The Indians best move here would be to make him throw as many pitches as possible.
Brandon Guyer’s at bat here and he’s apparently listening to me as he gets himself into a 3-1 count. Chapman’s next pitch is outside and that will do it for Chapman. Maddon obviously, and wisely, had him on a short leash.
Game of inches. pic.twitter.com/fJ9GtbJNhx
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
Cubs 9-2 Indians, top 9th
Ben Zobrist takes a walk, Russell grounds out and Cleveland gets out of the inning but it’s all but over for them.
Antony Rizzo hits a two run home run, Cubs 9-2 Indians
Cubs 9-2 Indians, top 9th
Clevinger gets Fowler to ground out. That’s one down. Schwarber flies out deep. Bryant hits a single and then Anthony Rizzo hits a home run to completely ice this game.
Updated
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 9th
Clevinger gets Fowler to ground out. That’s one down.
Around the world:
@HunterFelt Thanks for amazing coverage of WS games. <3 ur snark. Watching from Tokyo: compy open and TV on.
— anna davda (@annamobile) November 2, 2016
@HunterFelt Ur LineByLine almost as exciting as day-tripping from here in Jeddah to Wrigley for Game3 with Chi-born OxfordUK Cubbie @JECopus
— Martin Copus (@copusandco) November 2, 2016
@hunterfelt Sydney Australia here - shaded @martindurkin at just under 9,600 miles
— T20 Cricket AU (@NotT20CricketAU) November 2, 2016
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 8th
Yan Gomes, pinch-htter. There’s a phrase that just will always sound strange. Chapman falls behind him 2-1. Gomes fouls his next fastball off. 2-2.
And he grounds into a double play turned nicely by Baez and Rizzo. And that’s that for the eighth. The Cubs are three outs away from forcing a Game 7.
Updated
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 8th
Ramriez hits a sharp single that gets the Progressive Field crowd, desperate to cheer for anything, roaring.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 8th
Chapman’s back out there, apparently he’s fine. He also only threw two pitches last inning so he’ll be at a relatively low pitch count here. He gets Napoli to swing and miss at a 100.8 mph fastball.
@HunterFelt Following the live feed from Kuala Lumpur. 9,300 miles.
— Martin Durkin (@MartinDurkin) November 2, 2016
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 8th
So bases are cleared for Baez. After struggling with command with the first two batters, Clevinger strikes him out looking to end the inning.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 8th
It looks like Chapman is staying in he game despite an apparently leg injury. Meanwhile, Mike Clevinger is pitching for Cleveland. He walks Contreras and then immediately falls behind Heyward 2-0.
But, Heyward grounds into a double play. No harm, no foul.
Email from Rob M:
Man, you were wrong on all counts about game six. Cleveland is playing from behind this whole game. I would like to know where you get this information about your predictions. You need to go back to your day job what ever that is.
Man if I could predict games with any amount of regularity I would be out there wagering rather than writing snarky baseball commentary.
Email from Robert C:
Thanks for this coverage if my Cubs. Sitting here in Africa most network live streaming is off limits. This Guardian coverage is really helpful. GO CUBS!!
Rob in Tanzania (native from ILLINOIS)
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 7th
Lindor attempts to beat out a ground ball, and is in fact called safe at first base although it looks like he’s definitely out.
Game of inches. pic.twitter.com/fJ9GtbJNhx
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
Replay confirms that, which is good news for the Cubs as it ends he inning. The bad news for the Cubs is that it looks like Chapman might have hurt himself on the play.
Updated
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 7th
Jason Kipnis hits a single off of Montgomery and… Maddon is going to Aroldis Chapman? In the 7th? In a five run game? I… I don’t get this.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 7th
Correction: I blinked and missed pinch-hitter Rajai Davis lining out to start the inning. So, Perez is on first with one out. Make that two out, Carlos Santana flies out to center field.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 7th
Montgomery walks Perez to start the bottom of the 7th. And is that… is that Chapman warming in the bullpen?
Cubs fans around the world:
Mark T:
Arequipa in Peru here. 4,054 miles, according to Google. Go Cubs!
Fred D.:
Wearing Northside Blue here in Singapore
Julie G:
Following the live feed from Madrid (3:28 a.m.)
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 7th
And Addison Russell grounds out and it’s seventh inning stretch time.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 7th
Zobrist lines out to Guyer in left. That’s out number two.
Quick note on geography:
@HunterFelt I'm in NZ following too, but i should point out that Auckland is closer to Chicago than Perth, if you go the right way round
— Martin McVeigh (@MJMcVeigh) November 2, 2016
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 7th
McAllister falls behind Rizzo 2-0. Not what you want to do with runners on and no outs. Rizzo fouls the next ball out and then pops up into right field for the first out.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 7th
Bryant works a full count, you have to give credit to these Cubs hitters, their plate approach has been beyond phenomenal today.
He hits a foul liner. Still 3-2. He finally wins the battle between pitcher and hitter by hitting a line drive single. Two on and one out here. The Cubs threaten again..
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 7th
Guyer stays in the game to play left. McAllister is still pitching for Cleveland. Schwarber starts the inning off by hitting a line driver single
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 6th
Mike Montgomery comes in to replace Arreita. Brandon Guyer’s in to pinch-hit for Crisp. Guyer hits into a fielder’s choice that he nearly beats out, but nearly isn’t enough.
Email from Weirvantil:
Listening to the game here in New Zealand. We are even further away than Perth.
Let nobody tell you that Cubs fans aren’t everywhere.
Updated
Ed C.:
OK - presuming the Cubs get through this and take us to game 7: the Indians are planning to have Kluber pitch on short rest. They can’t be confident after Tomlin’s performance on three days rest tonight, can they?
I don’t think they would be too worried, they’re two very different pitchers.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 6th
Chisenhall up here. Arrieta’s approaching 100 pitches, meaning that we’re this much closer to seeing the Cubs bullpen. He also works a full count , perhaps a sign that he’s tiring.
Chisenhall fouls the next pitch off and then takes ball four. And just like that Joe Maddon comes out to get him. We have the first Cubs pitching change of the game.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 6th
Here’s Jose Ramirez working a full count before flying out to Zobrist. That’s two down.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 6th
Arrieta is back out there for the sixth to face Napoli, who he strikes out. It’s Arrieta’s ninth strikeout of the game, which feels strange because it doesn’t feel like he’s been all that dominant today.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 6th
Ping @hunterfelt yr commentary has me thinking u r part of "the tribe" ! > World Series 2016 Game 6: https://t.co/VEAIRUkMqC
— Frank (@thefrankreport) November 2, 2016
I’m not an Indians fan by any measure, but I have a soft spot for manager Terry Francona. Speaking of, Francona brings Zach McAllister into the game and he promptly gets Fowler to fly out to end the inning.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 6th
Baez falls behind in the 0-2 count and then lunges at a pitch just outside the plate that he hits for an infield single.
And that will be the end for the Manship this game,
Cubs 7-2 Indians, top 6th
Jeff Manship, easily the best name on either team’s roster, relieves Salazar. He gets Contreras to strike out swinging and then gets Heyward to fly out.
Email from Wayne E:
I’m not surprised Joe M. trying to get him thru 5 innings for the W, but I would have him on a very short leash.
I would hope like heck that a manager wouldn’t be trying to get his starter a W during a potential elimination game in the World Series. I think it’s more likely that with a 7-2 lead he doesn’t want to waste many relievers here.
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 5th
Lindor grounds out to end the inning, but the Indians aren’t just lying down tonight. They’re going to fight through this.
Jason Kipnis hits a solo hone run, Cubs 7-2 Indians
Cubs 7-2 Indians, bottom 5th
Arrieta falls behind Kipnis 3-0 before finally throwing a strike. He tries to throw another strike which he does. Unfortunately for him, it’s a strike because Kipnis hits it for a home run.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 5th
Santana’s up next, he pops one up a mile high. It lands in Rizzo’s glove for the second out of the inning.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 5th
Arrieta is still in the game, which is mildly surprising to me. He picks up his 8th strikeout by getting Perez out.
Email from Mark T:
Every will remember the slam hit… but Rizzo at bat tonight as been exceptional.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, top 5th
Addison Russell, who I’m guessing will be the leading candidate for player of the game should the Cubs not collapse here, is up next. Salazar strikes him out this time around to end the inning.
A good relief appearance from Salazar but it’s a shame it might not amount to much here.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, top 5th
Ben Zorist strikes out swinging. Two down in the inning.
Email from Christopher B:
Header: Perth Australia loves Cubs
Watching line by line on the edge of my seat waiting to find out the result of Nauquin’s last hit whilst pretending to work
Cubs 7-1 Indians, top 5th
After the wild pitch, Salazar gets a strike call on the next pitch to Rizzo. Rizzo fouls off the next ball. On the next pitch, Rizzo hits a foul ball that Ramirez is able to wrangle in a nifty play for the first out of the inning.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, top 5th
Salazar’s first pitch to Rizzo gets away from him, the wild pitch allows Rizzo to take second.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, top 5th
Salazar is back up again. Bryant hits a base hit just out of the reach of Lindor at short. The Cubs have their leadoff man aboard.
Email from Ross E:
Header: Queensland loves Cubs!
LET’S GO CUBS!!!
Wearing my lucky Cubs cap purchased at Wrigley Field 6 weeks ago ... seems to be working again!
Email from Gareth on the topic of lucky shirts:
Hi Hunter,
The smell of old timey baseball is fantastic! I have a question about Rob T’s lucky Cubs shirt, perhaps he could elaborate, maybe he wore it the in 2004 to help the Red Sox over? More pertinently if it is from the last time the Cubs won a World Series should he even be wearing it lest he damage such a valuable relic!
Gareth
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 4th
Naquin takes a borderline pitch that Joe West calls a strike and then fouls the next pitch off. He’s already down 0-2. Naquin doesn’t offer at Arrieta’s next pitch. 1-2.
And he swings and misses and the Indians leave them loaded. You have to think Cleveland just missed its one big chance of getting back into this game.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 4th
And Arrieta walks on four straight balls.Now the Indians have the bases loaded with two outs.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 4th
Coco Crisp is up. He takes ball one… which goes right between Contreras’s legs for a passed ball the allows the runners to move to second and third.
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 4th
And Arrieta hits Chisenhall with a pitch. Now there’s runners on first and second with two out. One wonders whether Arrieta’s at the end of the line here.This next batter might determined that..
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 4th
Ramirez hits a line drive that looks like it’s going to fall but Heyward makes a spectacular diving catch to rob him of a single. Progressive Field is silenced once again.
Napoli singles in a run! Cubs 7-1 Indians
Cubs 7-1 Indians, bottom 4th
Mike Napoli works a full count, a fairly good at-bat that ends with Napoli swinging at a pitch out of the zone for a line drive single that scores Kipnis. The Indians are on the board!
Updated
Cubs 7-0 Indians, bottom 4th
Lindor strikes out swinging. That’s one down in the inning.
Cubs 7-0 Indians, bottom 4th
@HunterFelt is there such a thing as a lucky Cubs t-shirt though, given their history?
— The 248 Service (@the248service) November 2, 2016
Well if the Cubs manage to pull this one off, then I’d venture to say that his would count as one.
And hey there’s life for Cleveland. Kipnis hits a leadoff double.
Email from Mark T.
Remember that deathly silence in Wrigley Field in game 4? It’s deja vu all over gain Yogi.
Addison Russell demolishing Cleveland’s hopes and dreams:
They call that an #AddiSlam. pic.twitter.com/7pc3CLfQxT
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
Cubs 7-0 Indians, top 4th
Salazar strikes out Baez swinging and gets Schwarber to fly out. That was certainly a much cleaner inning for the Indians than the last one
Cubs 7-0 Indians, top 4th
Danny Salazar relieves Dan Otero, who’s probably going to be remember for the goat of this game (perhaps unfairly, considering he inherited all four runners). He strikes Baez out swinging.
Email from Rob T.
Completely wrong. I’m wearing my lucky Cubs t-shirt in the office here in Auckland today and it’s going to game 7!
Well, the shirt’s working so far, I would think.
Cubs 7-0 Indians, bottom 3rd
And Santana ground out to first. A complete whimper there from an Indians team facing daunting odds.
Cubs 7-0 Indians, bottom 3rd
Perez line outs to Fowler. That’s two down.
#Cubs Addison Russell is the second youngest player in history with at least three HR in a single #postseason. Younger? Miggy (four), 2003.
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) November 2, 2016
Cubs 7-0 Indians, bottom 3rd
Arrieta has to be pretty relaxed now, working with a seven run lead. All he has to do here is throw strikes, which is something he’s good at.
And on that note, he gets Naquin rung up looking.
@HunterFelt welp looks like Game 7 ahoy! pic.twitter.com/F5BKLalKCR
— Glenn E (@Teng_Solanne) November 2, 2016
That seems to be the most likely scenario, yes.
Cubs 7-0 Indians, top 3rd
Willson Conteras grounds out and Francisco Lindor pop up to shortstop to end the inning, but the Cubs have done massive damage.
Addison Russell hits a grand slam, 4 runs score! Cubs 7-0 Indians
Cubs 7-0 Indians, top 3rd
Dan Otero is up now to relieve Tomlin, hoping to limit the damage here. He throws two straight pitches out of the zone to Addison Russell before throwing a pitch that Russell hits a mammoth home run for a grand slam. He just broke this one wide open.
They call that an #AddiSlam. pic.twitter.com/7pc3CLfQxT
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
Updated
Email form Tom A:
Separated at birth: Joe West and Bert Large from ‘Doc Martin’
I have zero idea what that is, I’m afraid, but I’ll take your word for it.
Bryant’s home run, in case you’re curious:
A blast … pic.twitter.com/b62CxIMlms
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 3rd
Zobrist hits a single, it’s not enough to score Schwarber, but the bases are loaded and there’s only one out. And here comes Terry Francona to relieve Tomlin.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 3rd
Rizzo hits a single, Schwarber makes it to second. Looks like another potential rally in the making.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 3rd
More confusion in the outfield as Chisenhall and Naquin can’t get on the same page on Bryant’s routine flyball. This time however nothing comes of it as Chisenhall makes the catch.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 3rd
Schwarber works a full count against Tomlin before taking ball four. The Cubs have their leadoff man on.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, bottom 2nd
And Lonnie Chisenhall strikes out swinging. It looks like Arrieta’s getting into a groove. (Note: I may have just jinxed him.)
Or not, he gets Coco Crisp to ground out to third and that’s that for the second.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, bottom 2nd
Jose Ramirez strikes out on a caught foul tip to start the bottom of the second.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 2nd
Fowler flies out to right and that’s that for the Cubs in the second.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 2nd
Javier Baez is up next, he falls behind 0-2, takes a curveball for a ball and then grounds out to Kipnis who throws to Napoli who gets him out in a bang-bang play at the plate. The Cubs contemplate challenging the call, but ultimately think better of it. Probably a wise move as replay shows he’s out.
Updated
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 2nd
Jason Heyward immediately flies out to start the second.
.@KrisBryant_23 barreled up the longest @Cubs homer of the #postseason. https://t.co/lw0lAtEXTi pic.twitter.com/6TCV4FHZPc
— #Statcast (@statcast) November 2, 2016
Impressive numbers, but I still don’t understand why the heck they keep trying to make “exit velocity” a thing.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, bottom 1st
Napoli fouls off Arrieta’s first pitch and then takes a ball. 1-1. He fouls off the next offering straight back. 1-2. Next pitch is a ball. 2-2. And then Napoli swings away and gets nothing. And that first inning is finally over. That was about a half-hour, just so you have an idea about the pace of this game.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, bottom 1st
Arrieta gets ahead of Francisco Lindor 0-2, but misses with his third pitch. Arrieta’s fourth pitch is only a ball to Joe West, but he’s the only person who’s opinion matters on the subject. Lindor takes the next two pitches and he makes his way to first base. Solid at bat from Lindor, with a Joe West assist.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, bottom 1st
Jason Kipnis grounds out to second.
Updated
Email from Ed C:
If Arrietta gets through first inning, Cubs have this … but Jake’s been so much less than he was last year .
True, but to be fair, it’s difficult to not regress after you have a Cy Young season. No way to go but down really.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, bottom 1st
Here comes Jake Arreita whose coming into the game with a three-run cushion already. Gotta think he likes having some breathing room. He gets Carlos Santana to strike out swinging.
@HunterFelt Tomlin: is the battery choosing the wrong pitch or is he just not throwing well? Rattled? Seems rattled.
— Glenn E (@Teng_Solanne) November 2, 2016
I think the home run was just a mistake but everything after that was Tomlin being somewhat rattled, I think. Although honestly that should have only been a one-run inning.
Incredible energy running through my veins: what a great time for baseball! Can you imagine what a tomorrow would be like? @HunterFelt
— David Lengel (@LengelDavid) November 2, 2016
This would be an incredible Game 7, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves there’s still 8 1/2 more inning to go here.
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 1st
Willson Contreras hits a routine fly ball, Naquin clearly calls for it, hoping to avoid a repeat of the previous disaster. He makes the play and the Indians are out of the inning but the Cubs have done a lot of damage already.
Addison Russell "doubles" in two runs, Cubs 3-0 Indians
Cubs 3-0 Indians, top 1st
… and a bloop. pic.twitter.com/1v0jDpRJo8
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
And Addison Russell hits a flyball that’s quite catchable. It should be the last out of the inning except none of the outfielders can make a play on it. Instead it drops Rizzo and Zobrist score. Russell makes it to third on Jason Kipnis’s throwing error.
Updated
Cubs 1-0 Indians, top 1st
Rizzo’s up next and he hits a line drive single. Then, Zobirst follows up with a single of his own, moving Rizzo to third. This is unraveling quick.
Kris Byrant hits a solo home run, Cubs 1-0 Indians!
Cubs 1-0 Indians, top 1st
Tomlin gets Kyle Schwarber to ground out and it looks like he’s cursing but Kris Bryant hits a home run to quickly give the Cubs a one run lead.
A blast … pic.twitter.com/b62CxIMlms
— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2016
Updated
Cubs 0-0 Indians, top 1st
And Fowler swiftly grounds out for the first out.
Cubs 0-0 Indians, top 1st
Josh Tomlin’s first pitch to Dexter Fowler is a strike. That’s how you start a World Series game.
Updated
First pitch
Cubs 0-0 Indians, top 1st
Josh Tomlin’s first pitch to Dexter Fowler is a strike. That’s how you start a World Series game.
Updated
Josh Tomlin comes to the mound, the Indians should be following shortly. Okay now I’m getting excited.
And here they come. First pitch is next.
Email from Mark T.
Rooting for the Cubs here, but fearing the worst, too. For what it’s worth, i also went for 4-2 Land and no game seven (in our 10 person round robin betting ring today). The $100 win is rarely picked up by any of us, though. Baseball is tougher than football for correct score predictions.
The view:
Ready for Game 6. pic.twitter.com/trr5kBvoLl
— (((Jesse Spector))) (@jessespector) November 2, 2016
The plus side if the Indians win this series: the complete dismantling of the “Cleveland Sports Curse” narrative.
The plus side if the Cubs win today and tomorrow: No more Steve Bartman talk.
The lead up to this game is the most interminable, endless thing that doesn’t involve the presidential election. We’re still 15 minutes until first pitch here and I think I may have burnt through all of my pre-game material already.
Oh Joe West is behind the plate. This is going to be a long, long night.
Reminder: if Chicago wins today, it means that Cleveland is in danger of blowing a 3-1 series lead. Just throwing that out there.
Predictions
I guess this would be a good time to actually offer up my prediction.
Sorry Cubs fans, but this one’s ending tonight. I hope I’m wrong, Game 7s are the best, but I just can’t imagine the Indians not finishing the job now the they’re back on home turf. My guess? Maybe 4-2 Cleveland, with Chicago playing from behind for most of the game.
Your thoughts? Tweet them to @HunterFelt or email them to Hunter.Felt@theguardian.com.
@HunterFelt can CLE get to Arrieta and knock him out before 6 innings? Who would lead that surge? Which hitter(s)? Is Gm 7 inevitable?
— Glenn E (@Teng_Solanne) November 1, 2016
I have a weird feeling that no matter what we’re not going so see Arrieta go farther than six innings. I think we’re going to get a bullpen chess-match game when we hit that point.
Email from David E notes that I put down both Game 6 and Game 2 at different points during the preamble:
Hi Hunter,
Waiting with bated breath for Game 2, umm, no I mean Game 6 don’t I??
This is good- you got the mistake out of the way early so now it can be smooth sailing!!
Cheers
In my defense these games have been so long that you can’t blame me for becoming unstuck in time. Also: there’s absolutely zero chance that this will be my only mistake of the day haha.
And then there’s the Indians starting lineup
Cleveland Indians lineup
1. Carlos Santana DH
2. Jason Kipnis 2B
3. Francisco Lindor SS
4. Mike Napoli 1B
5. Jose Ramirez 3B
6. Lorrie Chisenhall RF
7. Coco Crisp LF
8. Tyler Naquin CF
9. Roberto Perez C
Updated
Speaking of the Chicago Cubs, here’s their lineup for today’s game. Note that the DH position allows them to give a full series of at-bats to Kyle Schwarber. This could end up being significant.
Chicago Cubs
1. Dexter Fowler CF
2. Kyle Schwarber DH
3. Kris Bryant 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo 1B
5. Ben Zobrist LF
6. Addison Russell SS
7. Willson Contreras C
8. Jason Heyward RF
9. Javier Baez 2B
Here’s a subplot that I never would have expected to pop up during this World Series: Smashing Pumkins founder Billy Corgan, taking a break from his main hobbies of researching chemtrails and not writing any good songs since sometime around Zwan, has decided to lash out at “bandwagon” Cubs fans.
No word if Nash Kato has weighed in on this subject yet.
Preamble
After the Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago Cubs in their first two home games of the series, there was a very real possibility that this World Series wouldn’t even make it to Game 6. Fortunately for the Cubs , they salvaged the series with a 3-2 win in Monday’s Game 5, keeping their championship hopes afloat for at least one more game. The bad news? This series is heading back to Progressive Field and the Cubs have zero margin of error, one loss to the Indians and this series is over.
It should be a great pitching matchup today, with the Cubs starting last year’s Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta (18-18, 3:10) against Josh Tomlin (13-9, 4.40), who has allowed just 4 runs in 3 postseason games.
This might be the most important game in Cubs history since 1945, although that distinction would change should they force a Game 7. Heck it might also be the most important Indians game since 1958.
I know I keep on saying this every liveblog, but we strongly encourage everyone to share their thoughts, questions, jokes and any-and-all vaguely baseball-related things to us, either via email (to Hunter.Felt@theguardian) or by Twitter (to @HunterFelt). We’ll be sharing them in this liveblog throughout the game.
Okay, enough chatter, it’s the Chicago Cubs vs. the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field for Game 6 of the World Series. The first pitch is scheduled shortly after 8:00pm EST, although past experience with prime time games leads us to believe it will be starting slightly less shortly than promised. We, however,will be giving you constant updates before the action truly begins.
Updated
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, read why Cleveland want to celebrate in front of their home fans:
The Indians’ passionate fanbase is ready to erupt at Progressive Field on Tuesday night, where temperatures are expected to reach about 70F at game time. Victory over the Cubs would see them become the first Cleveland sports team to clinch a title at home since the Browns won the NFL championship game in 1964.
The city missed this year’s big events, too. The Cavaliers completed their remarkable NBA finals comeback on the road, beating Golden State in Oakland for the city’s first championship in 52 years. Then, the Indians clinched the AL Central crown at Detroit, won the division series in Boston and the championship series in Toronto.
Cleveland could have wrapped it up on Sunday night in Chicago, but second baseman Jason Kipnis said he preferred it this way. “It’ll be ideal. We have a better situation to do it now,” Kipnis said.
Updated
