sting of their late-season irrelevance by playing much improved baseb | Forum

Topic location: Forum home » General » General Chat
123
123 Mar 28 '19
CLEVELAND -- One more game. Cheap Wholesale Air Max . For everything.Either a 108-year World Series championship drought will come to an end, or another thats lasted 68 years.Hysteria for one fan base, more heartbreak for the other.Cubs vs. Indians in a winner-take-all Game 7.As it should be.Its just correct and apt that wed go seven games, Chicago manager Joe Maddon said.Addison Russell hit a grand slam and tied a Series record with six RBI, and Chicago took advantage of a huge early misplay in Clevelands outfield as the Cubs, their offense finally revving, throttled the Indians 9-3 on Tuesday night in Game 6 to push this tense tug-of-war between baseballs two longest title drought holders to the limit.The biggest, most nerve-wracking day lies ahead.This is kind of fitting for these two franchises. This is storybook, Cubs catcher David Ross said. Theyll make movies about this one day.Indians ace Corey Kluber, dominant while winning Games 1 and 4, starts again on short rest Wednesday night at home against big league ERA leader Kyle Hendricks.Clevelands hopes will rest with their best pitcher, the one guy theyve been able to count on all season.We knew it wasnt going to be easy, said Jason Kipnis, who homered and had three hits. We knew theyve got a great ballclub over there. They were lined up with their three-headed monster of a pitching staff. Were still very confident.Kris Bryant homered to spark a three-run first inning, Russell hit the first Series slam in 11 years and Jake Arrieta worked into the sixth as the Cubs, down 3-1 back at Wrigley Field, are now rolling. One more win at Progressive Field would bring their first championship since 1908.The Indians, trying for their first title since 1948, missed a second shot at closing out the Cubs. Cleveland is now forced to play another Game 7 after losing in 11 innings to the Florida Marlins in 1997 in its last trip to the Series.Not wanting to take any chances despite a comfortable late lead, Maddon used atomic-armed Aroldis Chapman for one out in the seventh, the eighth and one batter in the ninth. The lefty, who got the final eight outs in Game 5, threw just 20 pitches and will be on call for the seasons final game when both managers wont hesitate to use any arm theyve got.The Cubbies, shut out twice earlier in this Series, brought their clubbies to Cleveland. Bryant had four hits and Anthony Rizzo added three, including a two-run homer.They hammered Josh Tomlin, who couldnt get out of the third inning and didnt get any help from his outfield in the first. The right-hander, who was so effective in Game 3 at Wrigley Field, pitched on short rest for the second time in his career but wasnt the problem as much as his location.Everything seemed to be lined up for a massive downtown street party in Cleveland.On a 71-degree November night, fans came hoping to witness the first championship win at home by a Cleveland team since the Browns took the NFL title in 1964 by shutting out the Baltimore Colts.With Eddie Robinson -- the last living member from that 48 title team -- in attendance, and LeBron James and the NBA champion Cavaliers coming over from Quicken Loans Arena after they beat Houston, Cleveland was poised to have a night to remember like the one just 134 days ago in June when the Cavs ended the citys 52-year championship dry spell.The Cubs blew through those plans like a wicked wind off Lake Michigan.Arrieta wasnt dominant, but he didnt have to be. Staked to the early lead, he held the Indians without a hit until the fourth when Kipnis doubled leading off and scored on Mike Napolis single.Arrieta worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, and gave up a homer to Kipnis in the fifth but struck out nine.Maddon came to get him in the sixth, the right-hander got several pats on the back from Chicagos infielders and Cubs fans saluted him with a standing ovation.Tomlin was one strike from getting out of the first unscathed when everything fell apart.He had Bryant down 0-2 when he hung a waist-high curveball that Chicagos third baseman, who came in just 2 for 17 in the Series but had homered in Game 5, cracked nearly halfway up the bleachers in left field, a 433-foot shot that sent a shockwave through standing-room-only Progressive Field.There was a bigger one to come.Rizzo and Ben Zobrist followed with singles before Tomlin got Russell to hit what appeared to be a routine out. However, right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall and rookie center fielder Tyler Naquin, unable to hear each other over the roaring crowd, looked at each other and let the ball drop onto the grass for a double.While they scrambled to recover it, Rizzo scored easily and Zobrist beat a relay throw to the plate, bowling over Indians catcher Roberto Perez as a sizeable contingent of Cubs screamed with delight.It was just loud at there, Naquin said. It was kind of one of those in-betweeners. Lonnie got a good break, I got a break, its just one of those deals. In the moment, me being the center fielder, I need to take charge on that. Thats my mistake.Although it was early, with Arrieta on the mound, Chicagos lead felt more like 30-0 than 3-0.Russell, who dressed up like a Ninja turtle on Halloween, then put a fright into Indians fans with his shot to deep left-center.With two on, Indians reliever Dan Otero placed a 2-0 pitch over the heart of the plate to Russell, who launched it over the wall spent much of his home-run trot howling.The Cubs were loud all night, and with one more win theyll be champions.I hope its not difficult to sleep. Its every kids dream. It all comes down to Game 7, Russell said.FALL CLASSICSBryant and Rizzo became the first 3-4 hitters to combine for seven hits in a Series game. ... Kipnis went 3 for 4 with a single, double and home run. He has two in this Series, joining Willie Stargell and Roy Campanella as the only players to accomplish that. ... Clevelands pitchers have 59 strikeouts, tied for the fourth most in Series history. The 2001 Yankees had 70.SEVENTH HEAVENThe Cubs and Indians each have 0-2 records in Game 7. Chicago lost the 1945 World Series to Detroit and the 2003 NLCS to Florida, both at Wrigley. ... Along with the 97 Series loss, the Indians dropped the 2007 ALCS at Boston. . The Series has gone the distance three times in six years. San Francisco defeated Kansas City in the last seven-gamer in 2014. . Home teams are 18-19 all-time in Game 7.ME AND THE MICKAt 22, Russell became the second-youngest player to hit a grand slam in the World Series. Yankees legend Mickey Mantle was 21 when he hit one on Oct. 4, 1953 against Brooklyn. Russell is the first Cubs to player to connect for a slam in the Series. Nike Air Max Cheap Wholesale . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Air Max Wholesale China . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. http://www.airmaxclearance.com/ . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter came into this series with the Tampa Bay Rays showing a real urgency, challenging his team to push for every win possible as they chase the Blue Jays and Red Sox in the American League East.Baltimore has responded in a big way, getting two easy wins over the Rays to pull within one game of Toronto for the division lead, with a chance to sweep Tampa Bay as they close out the series Wednesday afternoon.This is a tough place to play, said Showalter, whose team is now 11-3 against the Rays this season. Youve got to be a self-starter and get yourself ready to play, because next thing you know, you can get ambushed. Theyre capable of good baseball.The Rays are in danger of taking their first series sweep since the All-Star break as a team that had a 3-24 stretch going into the break has consistently avoided losing streaks like that in the past two months.But on the very day they fired hitting coach Derek Shelton, the Rays went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position Tuesday, getting a home run from the first batter of the game, then just one unearned run the rest of the way.I know its been ugly the last couple of days, manager Kevin Cash said after Tuesdays loss, his teams third straight. When you have some big innings like weve had go against us, it appears worse than it is at timess. Cheap Nike Air Max Clearance. We want to win, and were not playing to our abilities, but we have played better baseball as of late.Wednesdays Orioles starter, Dylan Bundy, has come a long way since making his first start of the season at the Trop against the Rays. Transitioning out of the bullpen, he lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up four runs in a 5-2 loss.But since then hes gone 6-3, becoming a steady part of the rotation. In his last outing, he threw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball, holding the Yankees to two hits in a win on Friday.Rays starter Drew Smyly has had success against Baltimore in his career, going 4-1 with a 3.22 ERA in nine appearances. That wasnt the case in his last outing, however, as he gave up eight earned runs, matching a career high, in five innings in a loss on June 26 that included a grand slam to Chris Davis and home runs to Mark Trumbo and Jonathan Schoop.The Rays had lessened the sting of their late-season irrelevance by playing much improved baseball in the last two months, but three straight losses have taken away some of that momentum.The best we can do is bounce back tomorrow and play a good ballgame, said Cash, who will face the same Orioles team four more times next weekend in Baltimore. ' ' ' 
Share: