Indians shut out Cubs 1-0 in Game 3
A rare warm October night, complete with a gusty wind blowing out, greeted the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians Friday at Wrigley Field.
So what did we get on this inviting night for hitting?
A 1-0 victory for Cleveland in Game 3 of the World Series. The Indians own a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series, and they'll have their ace, Corey Kluber, going on short rest Saturday night in Game 4.
The Indians scored the only run in the seventh inning on a pinch single by Coco Crisp. The Cubs now have been shut out four times in the postseason. They had runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Javier Baez struck out to end the game.
The wind blowing out has been rare this year at Wrigley, and it brought with it a comfortable temperature of 62 degrees.
With the Indians starting flyball pitcher Josh Tomlin, it figured to be a good night for Cubs power hitters. But in baseball, there's nothing much that figures.
"I think all the things adding up is like a negative to it," said Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who was 1-for-4. "The guy is a flyball pitcher, the wind is howling out, it's October. Of course, a 1-0 game and a little broken-bat (hit) to win it. That's the way this game is. You've got to roll with it. You've got to roll with the ups and downs."
The Cubs sent Kyle Hendricks to the mound, and he has done good work at Wrigley. After getting out of a couple of jams early, he could not make it out of the fifth, exiting with the bases loaded and one out, only to be bailed out when reliever Justin Grimm got a double-play ball from Francisco Lindor.
"Just a battle," Hendricks said. "I wasn't sharp, but they had a good game plan against me. They were laying off some good pitches, putting together good AB's. Just didn't have a good feel today for them and myself."
Hendricks, who had a 1.32 ERA at Wrigley Field during the regular season, took note of the elements.
"I try not to think about it too much," he said. "Coming out of the game and then looking back, having a 1-0 game with the wind blowing out like that, I don't think you'll see that very often."
Tomlin did just enough for Cleveland, as manager Terry Francona went to his bullpen early, going for ace lefty Andrew Miller in the fifth. Miller got pinch hitter Miguel Montero on a lineout to right and strand a runner on second.
"That bullpen has done an unbelievable job for us all year long," Tomlin said. "And the situation we're in now, pinch hitter coming up, that's probably your best option. I get it."
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said his hitters just need to recalibrate after striking out eight times.
"I thought it was a well-played game," Maddon said. "I thought we played great defense again tonight. We were just out of the (strike) zone way too often."
The Cubs had chances in each of the final three innings. In the seventh, Jorge Soler tripled on a high flyball down the right field line. He was slow to get out of the box, saying through a translator he thought the ball was going foul but that the wind pushed it back into play. Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall jumped for the ball but could not get it.
Baez grounded out to end that threat. Dexter Fowler singled with two outs in the eighth but Kris Bryant struck out. In the ninth, Rizzo singled to lead off. Chris Coghlan pinch ran for him. Ben Zobrist struck out, and Willson Contreras grounded out, sending Coghlan to second. After Jason Heyward reached first base on an error and stole second base, Baez struck out against Cody Allen.
The crowd of 41,703 filed out quietly, but the fans made a lot of noise early in the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945. Zobrist, who helped the Royals win the World Series last year, didn't seem to think the Cubs were too amped up.
"The crowd was awesome," he said. "They were fantastic all game long. Everybody had a good time, it seemed like. Obviously we all wanted the outcome to be different, but they were great, and it was electric out there. It would have been nice to get them a 'W,' but we'll do that tomorrow."
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