Cleveland Indians Take 1-0 Lead in World Series
Game One of the World Series is in the books, and the Cleveland Indians came away with an impressive victory.
The Cleveland Indians played Game One of the World Series about as perfectly to script as they could have hoped. An early lead, a dominant performance by Corey Kluber, and a bullpen that locked things down gave the Tribe a 1-0 lead in the Fall Classic.
Catcher Roberto Perez had a monster game yet again in the playoffs, hitting two home runs and driving in four runs. The Tribe catcher’s three-run dinger in the bottom of the eighth was the nail in the coffin for Chicago.
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Cleveland put two runs on the board against Chicago starter Jon Lester in the first inning, all with two outs. Francisco Lindor singled after Rajai Davis and Jason Kipnis had been retired on a total of five pitches, and was followed by walks to Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana.
It was a swinging bunt by Jose Ramirez and a hit by pitch for Brandon Guyer that brought home those first two runs. Perez added a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth for a 3-0 advantage.
That production gave Kluber and relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen all they needed to give Cleveland all it needed to strike first in the series.
Game Two has been moved up an hour, to 7:08 p.m. ET, due to the weather forecast, but there’s a 100 percent chance of Indians fans being out in force.
Klubot: Destroy (Or Something Else Unbelievably Good)
Kluber may be expected to start not only Game One, but also Games Four and Seven if necessary, and he gave manager Terry Francona all the more reason to trust him with such a workload. In getting the win, the 30-year old struck out eight of the first nine he faced, and ended up with nine in his six shutout innings.
The Indians ace has now won his last 12 games, including the postseason, in which his offense has given him two or more runs of support, and Cleveland grabbed its 61st consecutive win when it holds a three-run lead.
Kluber got eight of his first nine outs via the strikeout, the first time in which that has ever done in the postseason in Major League Baseball history. Followed by Miller and Allen, Chicago basically ran into a freight train.
ROBO!!!
Perez, who came up big in the first game of the division series against the Boston Red Sox, saved even more for this one. His two home runs and four RBIs were far away the difference in the game, and certainly were not what most Tribe fans were expecting.
Thrown in the fact that Perez called and caught a great game, and this is exactly the kind of performance from a supporting player that October is made of. Going forward, any offense the Cleveland backstop can provide, especially the way he did on Tuesday night, will be a boon for the Indians.
The Little Things
It will picked apart in postgame analysis on every major media outlet, but the key to Cleveland’s win was that first inning. Not only did the Indians score twice, they forced Lester to thrown nearly 30 pitches and manufactured runs with two outs.
Lester is a notoriously emotional pitcher, and his frustrations were on display in Game One. After Lindor’s two-out base hit and stolen base, it was apparent that the Tribe was in his head. Two walks and a hit batsman later, Cleveland had a lead that Kluber and the ‘pen would not yield.
This was perhaps the perfect sports night in Cleveland. Not only did the Cavaliers receive their NBA championship rings and raise a banner, the Indians followed the same blueprint for a win that they have followed all postseason long. If Game One was any indication, this is going to be the kind of series that provokes heartburn. Strap in, Tribe fans, it’s going to be a crazy ride.
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