Preview: Indians (94-67) at Cubs (103-58)
By Jeff Reynolds, The Sports Xchange
Game: 5
Venue: Wrigley Field
Date: October 30, 2016 8:15 PM EDT
Lester tries to keep Cubs alive in Game 5
CHICAGO -- Jon Lester carries the 108-year hopes of the Chicago Cubs to the mound for Game 5 of the World Series.
In their 177th game of the season, the Cubs are in a win-or-go home situation for the first time, trailing the Cleveland Indians 3-1 in the best-of-seven World Series.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon gives the ball to his most pressure-proven pitcher with the season on the line at Wrigley Field on Sunday night.
Lester has a 1.69 ERA in the 2016 playoffs with 21 strikeouts and five walks. His rich postseason resume includes 20 games (18 starts), 2.60 ERA and 8-7 record.
"I don't think you can really take it any different than any other start, whether you're tied or whether you're down or up," Lester said. "I think you have to have the same mindset going into it. It's hard enough to pitch this time of year or play this time of year and be successful. I think if you're down 3-1 and you're going in there saying you have to do this, you have to do that to try to stay alive, I think you've kind of already been beaten, you know? You're not worried about the right thing."
The Indians can clinch the franchise's third championship Sunday and end their own 67-year drought, the longest in the American League.
Cleveland's offense created traffic on the bases Saturday for the second consecutive game and bashed two home runs, but the Indians are being anchored by amazing pitching.
While Andrew Miller looked relatively human in allowing a Dexter Fowler home run -- snapping a 16-inning scoreless streak -- Corey Kluber went six to win for the second time in four games and set up swagger-filled righ-hander Trevor Bauer to start Sunday's potential clincher.
The atmosphere on Chicago's North Side has been electric, but the Indians hushed Wrigley with seven runs Saturday. Bauer said he looks forward to the historical challenge before him.
"The best part of it is hearing them all leave silent," Bauer said.
The Cubs beat Bauer in Game 2 and got on the board in the first inning. Terry Francona said he did not considering going with another starter in Game 5.
"Trevor's been a really good pitcher for us for four years,' Francona said. " If we thought that the finger was getting in the way, I understand it. But he's come so far and battled this thing so much that I think his better game is ahead of him."
Lester said he will put extra emphasis on getting ahead of hitters, even if he has to show more than he wants the Indians to see, because of his Game 1 first inning misfortune. A walk, hit batter -- when ahead in the count 0-2 -- and a hit cost Lester the lead.
"That was the game. Anytime you've got a guy like Kluber going against you, you can't give up much. Then come to find out just how locked in he was," Lester said, reliving Game 1. "So like I said, I don't mind giving up hits and giving up homers. It's the walks and the hit-by-pitch that really haunt me in that first inning. So you can't give up free base runners, especially this time of year. You just give them more opportunities to see you. You have to make more pitches."
Entering Game 4, the Indians were batting. 202 in the World Series. Francona said the approach at the plate will not change, but the results are adding up. The sparkplug for Cleveland has been shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is approaching Sandy Alomar's postseason team record of 20 hits.
But depth of the lineup, according to Maddon and Lester, is the real story when it comes to stopping the Indians.
"You have a lot of contact in that lineup. So that puts pressure on your defense when you're able to do that," Lester said. "When you don't strike out a lot, that puts pressure on your defense, and makes you continually execute pitches. And I think that's where they wear the starting pitcher down and get to that bullpen early."
Maddon boiled down the edge to two factors: Lester's experience and getting on the board first. The Cubs went up 1-0 in Game 4 and lost, but it was the first time the team crossing the plate first didn't get a win in the LCS and World Series.
"To have a guy in Jon that's been-there-done-that kind of a guy, and he's been very successful, been a World Series champion, he knows what the feeling is like, he knows what it takes," Maddon said. "So it's definitely comforting to the rest of the group for tomorrow.
"So the big thing again is to grab the lead somehow. Grab the lead, hold onto the lead. You don't want to try to fight from behind on these guys because that trilogy (relievers Miller, Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen) and they're throwing out there is pretty good."
Francona has consistently programmed a winning formula for Cleveland. He's 11-1 all-time in the World Series and one win shy of his third ring, Cleveland's first since 1948. Francona's magic touch at the lever, from the mix-and-match lineup to uncanny feel for his bullpen, was on display in both wins at Wrigley. Just don't expect him to say as much, preferring to credit his players and support staff.
"The thing that helps me a ton is the cooperation we get with our players is phenomenal because we do some things -- we've done a few things that are a little out of the box this series, last series, and they handle it," Francona said. "I'm not sure you can always do that with every player and have it work."
