Lester, Kluber look to keep rolling in Game 1 of World Series

It's go time.

For the first time in 71 years, the Chicago Cubs are in the World Series. That's great, but not good enough.

"As far as a team goal, you want to make it to this point," Cubs starter Jon Lester said Monday. "You want to be the last team standing and jumping in that dog pile and having fun afterwards.

"It's very rewarding to get to this point, but we still have this week to go."

The Cubs have had a great run so far, leading the major leagues with 103 wins during the regular season before dispatching the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers in the playoffs.

Now, they oppose the Cleveland Indians and try to win the World Series for the first time since 1908.

The Cubs have got to be feeling good heading into Game 1 with Lester on the mound. After posting the lowest ERA (2.44) of his career and matching his high for wins (19) during the regular season, Lester has been stellar in the postseason, going 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA.

"Jonny Lester, there is an incredible amount of calm that I'm seeing from the dugout when I'm watching him out there right now," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He's really, really in the moment, he's calm. He's just eager to get out and pitch."

Lester is going to have to continue being calm - and good - as he matches up against Indians ace Corey Kluber in the World Series opener.

Kluber, who should win his second Cy Young Award in three seasons this year, is 2-1 with a 0.98 ERA in 3 postseason starts.

"They're a good team, obviously," Kluber said of the Cubs. "They've been the best team in baseball all year, so they've got a lot of good hitters through their lineup, one through nine. It's not really much of a different story than we've had the last two series. Really good offenses, and it's just going to be a matter of going out there and executing."

Earlier in the season, Kluber was part of an impressive Cleveland rotation that also featured Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar and Trevor Bauer.

Carrasco is out for the year with a broken right hand, Salazar was just added to the Indians' World Series roster after missing the final month of the season with a forearm strain, and Bauer is still dealing with an injured pinkie he sliced up repairing his drone.

Thanks to the work of Andrew Miller out of the bullpen, the Indians have survived.

"Injuries are a part of the game," Kluber said. "It's going to happen throughout the year. Obviously, we've had our fair share of them pitching-wise. But I think it's just really guys embracing the challenges of stepping in and filling those shoes."