Rozner: Rizzo leads Cubs' grinding offense to big win

CLEVELAND - You could see it in their eyes Tuesday night.

After the Cubs' Game 1 defeat, their words and demeanor suggested something larger was at play, that the Cubs knew something about this World Series that didn't show up on the scoreboard in the first nine innings.

They talked ad nauseam about their good at-bats and how they were seeing pitches and grinding it out.

They were so confident it was as if they were saying, "Sure, we lost a game … but don't be surprised if we get the next four."

One down, three to go.

Grinding doesn't even begin to describe what the Cubs did to seven Cleveland pitchers in a 5-1 Game 2 victory at Progressive Field Wednesday night, forcing them to throw 196 pitches as the Cubs tied the World Series at a game apiece.

Led by Anthony Rizzo, who was preaching the positives Tuesday night, it was almost cruel after awhile Wednesday night, though the Cubs make no apologies for their approach.

"It's how we play the game," said Ben Zobrist. "We won 103 games and got to the World Series this way."

Considering his mangled finger and Trevor Bauer's record of late, the biggest threat the Cubs faced Wednesday was not history or any of the other ridiculous narratives chasing the team through the 2016 postseason.

It was probably the rain. And the clock.

But you'll forgive the Cubs for laughing at the suggestion that they speed up their pace of play, see fewer pitches and try to beat the weather.

Please.

Picture Theo Epstein as Jack Nicholson, saying, "I run my unit how I run my unit."

The Cubs do what they do and they do it better than anyone, driving up pitch counts and driving the opposition batty, wearing them down and beating them up.

"I liked the at-bats last night," said Cubs manager Joe Maddon. "I thought it would carry over."

Rizzo gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead when he drove home Kris Bryant in the first with a double into the right-field corner, but his most impressive at-bat came in the third when he worked a two-out, 0-2 count into a 6-pitch walk.

On a 1-1 pitch, Zobrist singled up the middle and when Kyle Schwarber hammered a 3-0 fastball into center for an RBI single, the Cubs had turned nothing into something again.

"That was huge," said Zobrist. "That was kind of a turning point there. And when (Rizzo) does that and sees so many pitches, it makes it easier for the rest of us."

It was still 2-0 when they chased Bauer from the game after only 3⅔ innings and 87 pitches, not to mention nearly 90 minutes of play, which was the real concern.

The first six innings took just under three hours, but pace of play is the price you pay for this offense, and this offense is why the Cubs are in a position to win the World Series at Wrigley Field this weekend.

"I thought we did a good job (Tuesday) night," Rizzo said. "It just didn't show up until tonight."

Rizzo was at it again in the top of the fifth when he drew a 10-pitch walk and scored on a Zobrist triple into the corner, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead, and Schwarber followed with his second RBI single up the middle in as many at-bats.

Addison Russell walked to score another and the Cubs had used a 43-pitch fifth to expand the lead to 5-0 as they continued to bleed the Cleveland pitching staff.

So the Cubs came closer to getting their offense motoring again in Game 2, but they also know that in two games they've gone 4-for-23 with runners in scoring position and left 22 runners on base.

When they start to cash in on those, they could start putting up some big numbers again, even in the cold weather.

"We got Bauer out of there, but didn't have a lot of runs," Maddon said.

"If we finish it off and score some runs, we can make it a little easier."

What the Cubs knew after one game of this series is what they knew while they struggled in parts of the first two postseason series, that if they stay with what they do well, pitchers will eventually give in and give them something to hit.

That's what happened in Game 2, just as they seemed to know it would after Game 1.

And while the World Series is tied at 1-1, it doesn't feel much like it.

All you have to do is look into the Cubs' eyes to see it.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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