Jake Arrieta just saved the Cubs from a world of pressure as the Cicago Cubs take World Series Game 2 after defeating heavily the Cleveland Indians to a score of 5 to 1.
Wednesday’s Game 2 marked a return to true midwest perseverance on a cold night in northeast Ohio with the start time moved up an hour to avoid possible thunder squalls moving into Cleveland.
Carlos Baerga throws the ceremonial first pitch #RallyTogether #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/IyMksqGoIL
— fox8news (@fox8news) October 26, 2016
In the World Series Game 2 the Cubs who dominated the run of play from start to finish behind a strong outing from starting pitcher Jake Arrieta and now they have leveled the World Series at one game apiece.
Arrieta carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, Kyle Schwarber drove in two runs and the Cubs brushed off a shutout. Arrieta, who pitched a no-hitter earlier this season, briefly invoked Don Larsen’s name by flirting with one deep in October before the Indians touched him for two hits and a run. However, the right-hander helped give Chicago just what it needed — a split at Progressive Field — before the Cubbies return to their Wrigley Field den for the next three games starting Friday night, October 28.
The Indians’ pitching finally struggled after nine postseason games that included eight wins and four shutouts. Everything was up. Up in the zone and even up and out of the zone. It’s good to pitch down in the zone and Bauer didn’t. He threw maybe 10 pitches down there, so the Cubs got a really good look at what he was offering in Game 2.
“Once I got a feel for my curveball, I felt like I was able to throw all of them just fine,” said Bauer after Game 2. “I don’t think the cold necessarily was the reason I didn’t have a feel for it (early) … I just wasn’t that sharp for whatever reason.”
This World Series Game 2 was the Cubs’ first World Series victory in 71 years. The Cubs hadn’t won in the Series since beating Detroit 8-7 in 1945 to force Game 7. Certainly the game did have its moments, though most of them served more as silencers for the 38,172 in attendance. Cubs hitters reached base 19 times, nine on hits, eight on walks, and sprinkled in among them were a first-inning RBI double from Anthony Rizzo, a fourth-inning RBI triple from Ben Zobrist and a pair of RBI singles from Kyle Schwarber.
On the other hand, the Indians cycled through pitchers, starting with Trevor Bauer, whose 87 pitches bought him 3 2/3 innings of work. Six more Indians relievers combined for 109 over the subsequent 5 1/3 innings. Even the presence of star LeBron James and the NBA champion Cavaliers, sporting their new rings, couldn’t stop the Indians from losing for the first time in six home games this postseason. Now Cleveland Indians head to Chicago for their biggest challenge yet.
