Cubs must try to solve Indians ace Kluber in Game 4

Contrary to public opinion/his growing mythical status, Corey Kluber is not unhittable.

Nor is he Superman, the Incredible Hulk or Iron Man.

Although Kluber has certainly been a superhero to Cleveland fans this postseason, the Indians' right-handed starting pitcher is actually human.

He bleeds. He breathes the same air as the rest of us.

And, yes, he can be scored upon.

Want proof? Here it is:

Kluber, who will start Game 4 of the World Series vs. the Cubs' John Lackey tonight at Wrigley Field, was a mere mortal in his final 6 starts of the regular season as he gave up 30 hits, 13 walks and 15 earned runs in 39⅓ innings.

That's still an impressive 3.43 ERA over that time, but nothing compared to the ridiculous 0.74 ERA he sports in 4 postseason starts. One of those came against the Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series when he gave up just 4 hits and struck out nine in 6 shutout innings.

"The postseason can be a really small sample size and everything gets magnified," said Indians manager Terry Francona. "But I do think he's good enough where you give him a task, you give him some time to think about it and get prepared, he's one of the best in baseball."

Kluber will be pitching on three days' rest in Game 4. He did that in the ALCS as well and allowed the only 2 runs he's given up this postseason in a 5-1 loss to Toronto. It was also the only loss Cleveland suffered on the way to the AL pennant.

Lackey and Cubs manager Joe Maddon both believe the short turnaround time could prove advantageous to Cubs hitters.

"(The Dodgers' Clayton) Kershaw, the first game he pitched here (in the NLCS), he was extremely sharp with everything," Maddon said. "The next game we saw him, not as sharp. So you just don't know."

Kluber, of course, doesn't exactly agree.

"You can watch however much video you want to watch, you can read whatever numbers you want to read and skew things however you want to skew them to feel like you know what a pitcher or hitter's going to do," Kluber said. "But when you get out there and it's actually in the game, it really comes down to who executes."

Lackey's 2016 postseason numbers don't exactly jump off the page as he's allowed 5 runs in 8 innings in starts at L.A. and San Francisco.

Lackey, though, has been awfully impressive in his last 7 starts at Wrigley Field, which date back to July 28. Not only are the Cubs 6-1 in those games, but Lackey has just a 2.31 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP.

This will also be the 37-year-old's seventh appearance (fifth start) in the World Series.

Lackey won Game 7 in 2002 as a rookie when the Angels won it all and he was also 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 2013 when the Red Sox triumphed over the Cardinals. The veteran said the '02 experience really helped turn him into the pitcher he is today.

"Once you've actually done it before … it makes it a little bit easier," Lackey said. "No matter what happens, nobody can say I can't win the big one, you know what I mean?

"So that's kind of comforting."