Cubs let the 'W' fly in Game 5 of World Series
Where there is life there is hope.
There was newfound life in the Chicago Cubs' bats Sunday night.
And there was certainly life among the 41,711 fans at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs provided them with some hope in a highly entertaining 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the World Series at Wrigley Field.
The Series now goes back to Cleveland for Game 6 Tuesday night with the Indians holding a 3-2 series lead.
The way it's going, this could turn out to be a truly classic Fall Classic between charter members of the National and American Leagues. The Cubs also will be able to use Kyle Schwarber as their designated hitter for games in Cleveland.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon put everything on the line, up to and including his own reputation, in this one.
Maddon pulled starting pitcher Jon Lester after 6 innings and 90 pitches with the Cubs clinging to a 3-2 lead. Lester is the Cubs' horse, so the move no doubt raised eyebrows. Maddon also turned to closer Aroldis Chapman, who tossed a career-high 2⅔ innings to pick up an eight-out save.
Chapman has made it known that he does not like multiple-inning save chances, but Maddon was trying to put this game to bed early.
“Of course,” he said. “You've seen a lot of that during the course of the playoffs. It's something you can't normally do during the season without beating somebody up too badly. But I talked to Chappy before the game. He was aware of being ready in the seventh inning. So we had all of that in play.”
All the affected parties seemed good with it.
“Actually, I told Bos (pitching coach Bosio) after that sixth I had been kind of grinding for the last couple innings,” said Lester, who is 1-1 in the World Series. “So just from Pitch 1, knowing kind of the circumstances and what was going on, I had to be perfect from Pitch 1.
“So I left it up to Joe, and Joe made a decision, and that was the decision. I'm happy it worked out for us.”
Maddon's first move was to bring in rookie Carl Edwards Jr. to serve as a “bridge” to Chapman. Edwards gave up a single to Mike Napoli, who moved to second on a passed ball charged to catcher Willson Contreras, also a seventh-inning entrant.
Carlos Santana flied out, and Maddon turned to Chapman, who got out of the inning before facing four batters in each of the eighth and ninth innings.
“Joe talked to me this afternoon before the game,” Chapman said through a translator. “He asked me if I could be ready possibly to come in, in the seventh inning. Obviously, I told him I'm ready. Whatever he needs me to do or how long he needs me to pitch, I'm ready for it.”
Lester began strong, striking out the side on 13 pitches in the first inning. The Indians took some of the life out of the crowd in the second, when Jose Ramirez hit a home run to left field.
Cubs hitters awoke in the fourth against Indians starter Trevor Bauer. Kris Bryant led off with a line-drive home run into the left-center field bleachers. Anthony Rizzo followed immediately with a flyball double to right.
Ben Zobrist singled Rizzo to third, and Addison Russell's infield single brought Rizzo home. Later in the inning, a sacrifice fly by David Ross made it 3-1 Cubs.
“Their guy was kind of cruising a little bit through the first three,” Bryant said. “So, yeah, it was nice to have a big inning there, kind of get us going a little bit. I felt like our at-bats after that inning were just as good. So that's a good sign for us.”
This game also featured good defense. In the second inning, Carlos Santana popped up foul. The ball bounced out of catcher David Ross' glove, but Rizzo was right there to catch it on the deflection. In the third, right fielder Jason Heyward made a leaping catch in foul territory at the wall on Bauer's flyball.
The Cubs entered the night down three games to one and facing elimination. Now, a team that won 103 games in the regular season is very much alive.
“Yeah, we get to go over there with two rested starting pitchers,” Maddon said, referring to Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks. “Again, from an entertainment perspective, if you're a baseball fan or looking to become a baseball fan, it was wonderful tonight. Entertaining.”
And there's a lot more to come.
• Follow Bruce's Cubs and baseball reports on Twitter at @BruceMiles2112.