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It’s crunch time for the Chicago Cubs. 

Following Friday night’s 1-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians, the Cubs now trail 2-1 in the 2016 World Series and face the prospect of falling behind 3-1 if they can’t solve Corey Kluber on Saturday evening at Wrigley Field.

So as first pitch approaches and tensions in the Windy City grow, here’s a look at when and where you can catch all of the Game 4 action:  

Game 4 Preview

With a chance to take a commanding lead in the Fall Classic, the Indians will hand the ball over to Kluber—who last pitched on short rest in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.  

Kluber was solid in that outing to the tune of seven strikeouts, four hits and two earned runs allowed in five innings, but the Indians fell 5-1 in Kluber‘s only loss of the postseason to date. 

But this time around, Kluber sounds more confident in his ability to pitch on three days’ rest. 

“The last time was first time on short rest, so I didn’t know what to expect about how I was going to feel,” he said, according to Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes. “Now that I do know I felt fine, it’s just a matter of using those three days to recover.”

And while Kluber is feeling more confident the second time around, so are the Cubs. 

Although Chicago was shut out by Kluber when he went six innings and struck out nine in Game 1, the Cubs appear confident they will have a better approach against the 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner when they hit the field on Saturday night. 

“Anytime you see a guy multiple times in a week, you’re going to feel more comfortable,” Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler said, according to the Chicago Tribune‘s Mark Gonzales. 

The Cubs will counter with John Lackey, who hasn’t made a postseason appearance since Oct. 19 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Furthermore, the 38-year-old hasn’t pitched more than four innings in the 2016 playoffs. However, the Cubs aren’t letting those numbers dampen their optimism. 

“I have a lot of faith in John, and I know he’s going to be ready,” manager Joe Maddon said, according to the Chicago Tribune‘s Paul Skrbina. “I never worry about him, man. He has been there, done that, and I know he’ll be ready for (Saturday).”

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The Cleveland Indians grabbed a 2-1 lead in the World Series on Friday night with a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The win also restored the home-field advantage the American League champions had lost by dropping Game 2 at Progressive Field.

Now the pressure rests squarely on the Cubs’ shoulders heading into Saturday’s Game 4. A 3-1 series lead for a team with Cleveland’s pitching, especially its shutdown bullpen, would feel like an insurmountable advantage with two home games looming for the Indians, if necessary.

With that in mind, let’s check out all of the important information for Saturday’s contest. That’s followed by a look at the odds, along with a preview and prediction for Game 4.

Game 4 Viewing Details

Where: Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois

When: Saturday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. ET

Watch: Fox

Live Stream: Fox Sports Go

Odds Information

Preview

The managers are utilizing different pitching tactics for Game 4.

Cleveland’s Terry Francona is turning back to his ace, Corey Kluber, on short rest with hope the Indians can take a commanding lead. The 2014 Cy Young Award winner pitched six shutout innings with nine strikeouts in the team’s Game 1 victory.

Chicago’s Joe Maddon is sticking with a four-man rotation, which means John Lackey will take the ball Saturday night for the Cubs. While it’s a risky move in a 2-1 hole, it means he’d have Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks lined up on normal rest to finish the series.

Lackey has struggled in the postseason, giving up five earned runs while allowing 10 hits and five walks in eight innings against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. He’ll likely be looking at a quick hook if he can’t settle into a rhythm early.

The other concern for Chicago is dealing with the emotion. The atmosphere at Wrigley Field for Game 3 was predictably special, as the long-tortured fanbase finally got an opportunity to see the Cubs play a World Series game after a 71-year absence.

Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times passed along postgame comments from catcher Willson Contreras, who admitted the situation caused the team to press too hard to make a big play.

“We were so anxious to win this game that we tried to do too much,” Contreras said. “We were first-pitch swinging. We didn’t see a lot of pitches. We were trying to do too much to [Indians starter Josh] Tomlin, and he made the right pitch in the right spots.”

Meanwhile, the Indians don’t mind Chicago hogging the spotlight. The star-studded Cubs came into the series as the favorite after a dominant regular season and, given the difference in market size, it’s no surprise they garnered most of the attention.

Add in the fact Cleveland has been playing without two key pieces—outfielder Michael Brantley and starter Carlos Carrasco—just reaching the World Series was a major accomplishment. Beating the Cubs without them seemed like a massive uphill battle.

Jordan Bastian and Carrie Muskat of MLB.com provided remarks from Tomlin after the Game 3 win concerning the lack of outside interest.

“I think we’ve been an afterthought all year long,” Tomlin said. “It doesn’t bother us. We know we have a group of guys who grind it out and try to play the game we know how to play and don’t listen to anybody else.”

They are just two victories away from bringing another championship to Cleveland after the Cavaliers’ NBA title triumph earlier in the year. It’s no shock they want the narrative to remain the same.

Hope is far from lost for the Cubs, though. Jon Hansen of WGN Radio pointed out they found themselves in the same situation in the NLCS before storming back to beat the Dodgers:

All told, between Kluber working on short rest and Andrew Miller pitching an inning and a third Friday, there should be an opportunity for the Cubs offense to score runs in the middle innings. Those frames will likely decide whether they level the series or find themselves in must-win mode for Game 5.

Prediction: 5-4 Cubs

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The Chicago Cubs find themselves in a difficult situation as they prepare for Game 4 of the World Series.

The Cleveland Indians are sending ace Corey Kluber to the mound with a 2-1 lead in the World Series, and he has already dominated the Cubs lineup once. They need to find a way to get to him or they face the very real possibility of going down three games to one.

Going into the World Series, Cleveland manager Terry Francona set up his starting pitching rotation so Kluber could pitch Game 1, Game 4 and Game 7. In that scenario, the Indians would have to come out on the winning side of one other game if they were going to earn their first title since 1948.

They earned that victory in Game 3 as the Indians pulled out a 1-0 win with starter Josh Tomlin and relievers Andrew Miller, Bud Shaw and Cody Allen holding the Cubs in check.

The Indians scored the only run of the game in the top of the seventh inning as pinch hitter Coco Crisp lined a one-out single to right field that brought in pinch runner Michael Martinez. The Indians had threatened several times in the first six innings, but starter Kyle Hendricks and reliever Jason Grimm had quashed those threats with excellent pitching.

The Cubs did not have a strong threat until the bottom of the ninth inning. Anthony Rizzo singled to open the inning, and pinch runner Chris Coghlan advanced to second on a ground ball.

With two outs, pinch hitter Jason Heyward hit a ground ball that got to first baseman Mike Napoli on an awkward hop, and he could only keep the ball in front of him and was charged with an error. Heyward stole second, giving Javier Baez an opportunity with runners on second and third to tie or possibly win the game with a base hit.

Allen worked him perfectly and struck him out on a high fastball to end the game. The shutout was the Indians’ fifth of the postseason, a new major league record.

While Kluber will get the ball for the Indians in Game 4 at 8:08 p.m. ET (Fox TV), veteran John Lackey gets the starting assignment for the Cubs. Lackey has played the role of World Series hero in previous stints with the Anaheim Angels in 2002 and the Boston Red Sox in 2013.

Kluber had an 18-9 record with a 3.14 earned run average and a 1.056 WHIP during the regular season. He has been even better in the postseason with a 3-1 record, a 0.74 ERA and a 0.986 WHIP.

Lackey, clearly the Cubs’ No. 4 starter this season behind Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Hendricks, was 11-8 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.057 WHIP. Lackey has pitched 8.0 innings in the postseason and has given up five earned runs as he heads into Game 4 of the World Series.

Kluber would appear to have the advantage, but he is pitching with just three days of rest. Additionally, the Cubs are now familiar with him, because he pitched 6.0 innings against them in the series opener.

However, they will have to swing the bats a lot better than they did in Game 1, when Kluber struck out nine and gave up just four hits without walking a batter.

Kluber told Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com that he is not worried about pitching on short rest. 

“It’s basically doing the same stuff in one less day,” Kluber said. “Your side sessions are a little shorter and things like that, but I’m still able to get in the things I need to do.”

Prediction

The Cubs had the best record in the regular season by a wide margin this year, and they are a confident team. 

While they rarely had any problems in the regular season, the San Francisco Giants pushed them hard in the National League Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers also tested them in the NLCS.

They responded to adversity in both of those series, and they will in the World Series as well. Look for Lackey to play the role of bulldog on the mound and fight his way out of trouble. Kluber will have a strong game for the Indians, but the Cubs will do just enough to build a lead.

Look for the Cubs to come away with a 3-2 win and tie the series at two games each.

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Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred stated Friday night he doesn’t foresee changing the way the designated hitter is handled during the World Series as long as the American and National Leagues operate under different rules during the regular season. 

Jayson Stark of ESPN.com passed along comments about the hot-button issue from the second-year commissioner, who doesn’t believe it would be fair to completely change the standards one of the teams has played under all season.

“I think the problem is picking what that one set of rules is,” Manfred said. “The National League plays without a DH all year. Their team is built to play without a DH. It’s the opposite in the American League. And I think the competitive ramifications of picking a single set of rules would be significant.”

He added: “Both teams have to adjust. Each of them has to adjust at some point in the series. And given that we play the game two different ways during the year, that makes some sense to me.”

The Cleveland Indians were forced to use their usual DH, Carlos Santana, in left field Friday to ensure his bat would remain in the lineup. He picked up two walks in three plate appearances before getting replaced by Rajai Davis as part of a double switch.

Meanwhile, Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber was only allowed to serve as a pinch hitter in Game 3 because he’s not medically cleared from a knee injury to play the outfield. He popped out to shortstop in his only at-bat after picking up three hits and two RBI as the DH in the first two games.

Friday’s contest, which Cleveland won 1-0 to take a 2-1 series lead, showcased the different strategies necessary in games without the DH.

T.J. Zuppe of CBS Cleveland noted Indians manager Terry Francona stated before Game 3 he doesn’t “necessarily agree” with how the DH rule is handled in the World Series.

“I just think you set your team up the way you set it up and then you get to the most important games and you’re doing something different,” he said. “It’s a disadvantage. It doesn’t mean you can’t win.”

Of course, while it’s not ideal for the Indians to utilize Santana in left field, it would also be problematic for most National League teams to use a DH for the entire series after not building their roster to fill that void for the regular season. Schwarber is a unique case.

That’s why it would be difficult for Manfred to set the World Series standard one way or the other. As long as the designated hitter remains exclusive to the American League, the fairest way to handle the Fall Classic is keeping the rules the same.

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The Cleveland Indians took a critical 2-1 series lead Friday night in the 2016 World Series over the Chicago Cubs, and the road team now has a chance to take a commanding advantage Saturday night in Game 4 at Wrigley Field.

In a tight pitching affair, Josh Tomlin allowed only two hits through 4.2 innings, and the dynamite bullpen combination of Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen held down the fort for a 1-0 Cleveland win. Meanwhile, Chicago’s streaky offense made its presence felt again, as the team was shut out for the fourth time this postseason.

Here is a look at the full viewing schedule, including live stream, in addition to odds and some notable comments from both teams ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

Odds are according to Odds Shark.

Corey Kluber will take the mound Saturday looking to lift Cleveland with a repeat of his dominant Game 1 performance. In a 6-0 win, the Indians ace was nearly flawless in six innings while allowing no runs and four hits.

The movement of his sinker—which is especially difficult for right-handed hitters, as it ties them up at their hands to force easy grounders—was working at full force to frustrate the Chicago lineup. Anthony Rizzo elaborated on the pitch’s effectiveness after Game 1, per MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince.

“It just starts at your hip,” Rizzo said of the pitch. “And it comes in at you and then he can cut it off of that, too. … It’s just really picking a lane.”

There could be more of that sort of frustration coming for Chicago, as Kluber has been locked in during this postseason. In four starts, the 2014 American League Cy Young Award winner is 3-1 with a microscopic 0.74 ERA. Kluber had never pitched in the playoffs before his current campaign, and he attributes his success so far to elevated focus, per Castrovince.

“Not that there is less importance on a regular-season game,” said Kluber, “but it’s almost like you have that extra level of intensity or focus and stuff that it’s not really something you can replicate.”

Chicago proved this postseason it can rebound against top pitchers the second time around.

In the National League Championship Series, Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw owned the Cubs in Game 2 with seven innings of work while allowing no runs, two hits and one walk. In Game 6, Chicago was much better; Kershaw allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings, as the Cubs were able to advance to the World Series.

Can Chicago replicate this success against Kluber? Well, it may need to find a way to get Kyle Schwarber involved. At this point, though, it seems Schwarber will not be available for multiple at-bats in any game at Wrigley Field:

He can make an impact as a pinch hitter and as a presence in the dugout, as Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein said the team views his bat and character as his greatest assets, per Sports Illustrated‘s Tom Verducci:

His bat and his intangibles are why we drafted him. He’s a complete impact hitter with the bat, but more than that he’s the perfect player to have as a franchise player because he can be one of your best players who everybody else wants to follow because of his character. He’s a special player and a special person.

Schwarber popped out in his lone pinch-hit effort in Game 3. Chicago’s lineup lacked some of the swagger Friday that it had when Schwarber was in the lineup for Games 1 and 2, as it only totaled five hits, so it will need to find another source of offense if Schwarber continues to start on the bench.

The uncertainty around Chicago’s offense puts some extra pressure to perform on John Lackey, who will start Game 4 for the Cubs. The 38-year-old has plenty of playoff experience, but his starts this postseason have been very spread out, as he noted Friday, per the Chicago Tribune‘s Paul Skrbina.

“It has been kind of a crazy schedule for me,” Lackey said. “I feel like I’m pitching every two weeks kind of deal. Once you get into the game you kind of fall back on things you’ve been doing all season, and hopefully you execute.”

Lackey has not pitched since Oct. 19, when he tossed four innings with two runs and three hits allowed in a no-decision that resulted in a 10-2 win. His only other start came Oct. 11, when Lackey also went four innings in a no-decision.

However, Cubs manager Joe Maddon is still confident he can get a quality outing out of Lackey in a critical ballgame, per Skrbina:

I just want to believe that he keeps getting stronger. But there is a certain amount of rust element involved. However, I have a lot of faith in John, and I know he’s going to be ready. I never worry about him, man. He has been there, done that, and I know he’ll be ready for (Saturday).

Lackey’s history against the current Cleveland roster suggests he should do fine Saturday, as most of the Indians have struggled against the righty:

Given Lackey’s track record this postseason, the Cubs should not expect more than five innings from their starter. This could be troubling considering the fact Chicago has not generated any consistent offense and that it will be going against an ace in Kluber.

The Indians already proved they can win at Wrigley Field, and they should be favored in this one. However, the Cubs cannot be counted out just yet, as the team responded to a two-game scoreless streak against the Dodgers with 23 combined runs in the next three contests. Chicago has the ability to explode offensively; it just remains to be seen if it can do so against Kluber.

Statistics are courtesy of MLB.com.

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Brandishing a 2-1 World Series lead, the Cleveland Indians can jump one step closer to an elusive title with a Game 4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.

As Cleveland should know, a 3-1 advantage doesn’t guarantee a title. Yet despite the edge, there’s extra pressure to win with its ace on the mound. 

Cleveland will turn back to Corey Kluber, who tossed six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks during Game 1’s 6-0 victory. The 30-year-old starter will go on short rest against John Lackey, a well-traveled veteran making his fifth World Series start for his third different team.

Heading into Saturday night’s pivotal Game 4, let’s map out each club’s blueprint to notching an important win at Wrigley Field.

Indians: Follow the Kluber-Miller-Allen Formula

With Kluber on the mound, Cleveland’s road map to victory is simple. It’s the same one the AL champions used in Game 1 of both the American League Championship Series and Fall Classic. 

Get six or seven inning stellar innings from the ace before turning the game over to Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Laugh manically as the Cubs grow increasingly defeated with every passing punchout.

On Tuesday night, the superstar trio combined for 15 strikeouts and two walks—both uncharacteristically from Miller, who issued nine free passes all season—during their win. The Cubs made Miller work in his most mortal outing of a spectacular postseason, but the southpaw still submitted six outs without spoiling the shutout.

Kluber has not allowed a run in three of his four postseason starts, and Cleveland’s bullpen kept the shutout intact each time. In two of those outings, manager Terry Francona handed the ball to Andrew Miller and Cody Allen for the final three frames.

For anyone still wondering how Cleveland has survived this long without Michael Brantley, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, these three are the answer. They have worked 46.2 of 98 postseason innings with remarkably outstanding results. With anyone else on the mound, things get more interesting:

Leaning on the studs seems simple on paper, but remember that Kluber is working on three days’ rest. The last time he pitched on a short turnaround, he allowed his only two runs over five innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. 

After using Miller and Allen in extended roles the previous day, Francona saved him with his squad still boasting a 3-0 ALCS lead. Bryan Shaw and Mike Clevinger relinquished three runs after a scoreless inning from Dan Otero, the group’s unsung hero. 

Slightly tweaking Plan A to include Otero isn’t cause for major concern, but Bryan Shaw threw 31 pitches Friday, and everyone else looks unequipped to handle a thunderous Cubs offense. Salazar was rusty in his Game 2 playoff debut, surrendering two walks over an inning.

Even though he was dealing, Francona limited Kluber to 88 Game 1 pitches with Game 4 in mind. The three-man rotation means Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin (if necessary) will also start on short rest. If using Kluber in that scenario is risky, Cleveland fans especially can’t feel comfortable testing Bauer or Tomlin’s limits.

It’s a tough ask, but the Indians need another strong, lengthy outing from their ace to stay in the driver’s seat.

Cubs: Keep Short Leash on John Lackey

Cubs manager Joe Maddon, meanwhile, faces different circumstances. They have won both of Lackey’s starts this October, but Maddon yanked the 38-year-old after four shaky innings each time.

Maddon‘s last hook particularly irked the veteran, who entered the fifth inning nursing a 5-0 lead. The skipper removed him with a pitch count of 72 for southpaw Mike Montgomery after putting two men on board.

The always animated Lackey was caught uttering, “You’ve got to be (bleeping) kidding me.” Per CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney, Maddon stood by his choice:

You have to understand I’m dealing with some really highly-charged personalities here, guys that have been there, done that. They’re good and they’re very proud men, so I respect and understand all of that. But at the end of the day, it’s about more than just one person here and what we’re trying to get done.

You have to make some tough decisions and not everybody’s going to like them all the time. But in the moment, I thought it was the right thing to do, and so we did it.

Chicago doesn’t have Miller and Allen, but former starters Montgomery and Travis Wood can provide length if needed. If Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon can shake off some rough appearances, all the better.

Per Baseball-Reference.com, Lackey has relinquished a .286/.341/.459 slash line from pitches 76-100. Like most starters, his career efficacy wanes each time passing through the batting order:

Changing locations to Wrigley Field could also force Maddon‘s hand to pinch hit for him early, especially if Kluber stifles Chicago’s offense. Lackey may curse, but the Cubs are concerned with breaking a far more powerful championship spell.

Both Teams: Maximize Defense, Bench

Moving to a National League ballpark created difficult dilemmas for both squads. While Chicago thought better of starting Kyle Schwarber in left field, Cleveland made the bold decision to play Carlos Santana in left field Friday night.

Since Kluber is starting, Francona might have second thoughts about utilizing someone who hadn’t played in the outfield since 2012. Run prevention is the main goal for Game 4, even if it means benching Mike Napoli so Santana can man first base.

Besides, Napoli is batting .153 (20-for-131) since Sept. 1. In Game 3, he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a ninth-inning error that would have lived in infamy if the Cubs won. Benching him doesn’t mean he can’t make an impact, as it gives Cleveland a dangerous pinch-hitting power threat.

NL rules also ensure Rajai Davis will get involved. Whether to hit, run or field, he’ll spell Coco Crisp or Tyler Naquin later in the game. Yet given Naquin‘s struggles (4-for-20, 11 strikeouts), Francona should consider starting the veteran despite not having the platoon advantage against the right-handed Lackey.

As for the Cubs, Schwarber suddenly represents a valuable luxury off the bench. An aggressive Maddon will take out Lackey early if he needs the bat, so plenty of opportunities should arise for the returning slugger to continue his comeback tale.

Albert Almora and Chris Coghlan are both hitless this postseason, so Chicago hasn’t received any bench help aside from Miguel Montero’s game-winning grand slam in Game 1 of the NLCS over the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was the backup catcher’s early playoff hit.

No designated hitter robs everyone of a Schwarber start, but Maddon must pick his spot carefully to find a high-leverage pinch-hitting opportunity. In a potentially low-scoring affair, one swing could alter the game and series entirely. 

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The World Series between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs rolls on Saturday night from Wrigley Field with the Indians looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead following their tension-filled victory in Game 3.

Josh Tomlin, Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen combined to allow just five hits as the Indians recorded their MLB-record fifth playoff shutout in a 1-0 win Friday. 

The Cubs continue to search for answers on offense after scoring a total of five runs through the first three games, all of which came in Game 2.

The Indians will send ace Corey Kluber to the mound for the second time in the series, while the Cubs will counter with the battle-tested John Lackey for his first appearance since Game 4 of the National League Championship Series on October 19.

Preview

There was never any doubt about Kluber being Cleveland’s ace during the season, but his importance to the team amplified exponentially when Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco were injured in September and consequently unable to start in the playoffs. 

Kluber has been exactly what Indians manager Terry Francona has needed through four playoff starts, including Game 1 of the World Series, when he tossed six shutout innings and had the Cubs constantly off balance. 

The 2014 AL Cy Young winner has allowed two runs and 17 hits with 29 strikeouts in 24.1 innings against the Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays in October. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Kluber set a new World Series record in his first three innings of work on Tuesday:

Considering that the Indians will have to use Trevor Bauer on short rest in Game 5 and, if necessary, Josh Tomlin in Game 6, they can’t afford any kind of hiccup from Kluber in this spot. 

The key for Kluber, just as it was in Game 1, will be establishing his two-seam fastball on the inside part of the plate against Chicago’s left-handed hitters. 

The only real problems for the Cubs this postseason have come when they are going up against top-of-the-rotation starters. In five games started by Kluber, Madison Bumgarner, Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill, they have only scored runs in two of them. 

Against all other starting pitchers prior to Friday, the Cubs had scored a total of 43 runs in seven games.

Cleveland’s nine wins this postseason came when it scored first, which is a testament to how well the starters have fared overall and how dominant the back of the bullpen with Miller and Allen has been. 

While Miller has earned most of the accolades for his performance, including being named the American League Championship Series MVP, Ben Reiter of Sports Illustrated pointed out Allen has been his equal this postseason:

If Kluber can once again provide six strong innings of work, allowing Francona to immediately ride Miller and Allen for the final four innings, the Indians will likely be happy with the final result. 

Lackey will be making his third postseason start for the Cubs. He pitched four innings in each of his first two outings, with the Cubs able to win both times, including Game 4 of the NLCS, when they were trailing 2-1 in the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

One big factor for Lackey on Saturday night will be pitching at Wrigley, the first time he’s done that this postseason. The 38-year-old was much better at the friendly confines in 2016 than he was on the road. 

Cubs manager Joe Maddon has already shown this postseason he won’t hesitate to pull Lackey from a game, no matter how much the right-hander might protest.

Following Lackey’s start in Game 4 of the NLCS, Maddon explained he doesn’t care how much his pitcher might yell when he decides to go the bullpen, per Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago:

You have to understand I’m dealing with some really highly charged personalities here, guys that have been there, done that. They’re good and they’re very proud men, so I respect and understand all of that. But at the end of the day, it’s about more than just one person here and what we’re trying to get done.

This will be the only game of the series in which the Indians have a decided edge on the mound, even with Kluber working on short rest. He only needed 88 pitches to get through six innings in Game 1, so it’s not as if Francona is overworking his horse. 

Prediction

Because the Indians are sending their No. 1 starter up against the Cubs’ No. 4, this is a game the American League champions absolutely have to win. 

The Cubs were held in check on Friday, but their lineup is capable of putting up a lot of runs in a short amount of time. They did it against the Dodgers when they were trailing in the NLCS, scoring 23 runs in the last three games to secure a spot in the World Series. 

However, the Indians have homed in on something this postseason that’s worked against high-powered offenses in Boston and Toronto. That trend has continued in two of the three World Series games thus far.

Kluber has been virtually spotless in October, with Miller and Allen both likely available for multiple innings once again. There will be more offense from both teams, but Cleveland will find a way to come out on top.

Prediction: Indians 5, Cubs 3

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CHICAGO — Nervous time showed up late to the Wrigleyville party Friday night. It arrived unexpectedly and under the cover of darkness.

All day, starting at daybreak, the denizens of Chicago Cubs baseball poured into this neighborhood with great expectations. They were drinking beer at 5 a.m. They crowded the streets. They sang. They chanted.

For those who didn’t have a ticket to the game, bars were charging upwards of $200 cover charges to come in and watch on television. In the two hours leading up to first pitch, other bars and restaurants were charging $20 to $25 just for the privilege of entering the establishment to buy a drink, or dinner.

One person flew in from Asia without a ticket simply to be in Chicago to soak in the atmosphere. Another flew in from Belfast, Ireland. And those are two we know of without canvassing the block.

For those who did have a ticket to the game, the Wrigley Field gates, scheduled to open at 5 p.m., were opened some 40 minutes early, simply to relieve congestion on the streets.

Then, with the wind blowing out and conditions perfect for one of those high-scoring slugfests that Wrigley is famous for, Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin and the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks went to work. And in the seventh inning, a man with a breakfast-cereal name took a one-out hack that had the same effect as clicking “mute” on your television remote control.

Yes, nervous time showed up well before Coco Crisp swung and Cleveland’s ace bullpen delivered the gutsy 1-0 victory that catapulted the Indians to a two-games-to-one World Series lead with ace Corey Kluber ready to start Game 4 on short rest Saturday night.

Though Hendricks did a nice job of moving the ball around and avoiding damage, the Indians put nearly as much traffic on the bases as there was outside on Clark and Addison Streets. In each of the first five innings, Cleveland put at least one runner on base.

Then Crisp broke the ice, and down to their final nine outs at that point, Wrigley Field seemed to sway and writhe with each at-bat.

It should have been doable for Chicago. Cleveland manager Terry Francona went with relief ace Andrew Miller early, in the fifth, and Crisp’s hero moment came as he was pinch-hitting for Miller.

So Miller was gone for those final nine outs. But setup man Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen, as they were against Boston and Toronto, were enough.

“I knew during batting practice we just needed to get our hits,” said Ben Zobrist, one of the few Cubs who has been doing that with consistency this postseason. “Sometimes when you see the wind blowing out, you try to do too much.

“I didn’t see one particular guy doing it, but when you see the wind blowing out before a game, you start licking your chops more than you should. Hopefully that wasn’t the case tonight.”

Wrigleyville was licking its chops all day.

The Cubs? This was the fourth time this postseason they’ve been shut out.

Remember last year when they ran into the buzzsaw that was the New York Mets’ pitching? That was no small part of the reason for this year’s remodel, signing Zobrist and Jason Heyward.

Yet, the Cubs now become the first team since the 1905 Philadelphia Athletics to suffer four shutouts in a single postseason.

Ironic, isn’t it, that you have to go all the way back before the Cubs’ last World Series title in 1908 for that?

“It was our first time seeing [Tomlin], but he’s a fly-ball pitcher and the wind was blowing out,” Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s crazy how we don’t hit a fly ball.”

Tomlin is a nice pitcher who works the outer edges of the strike zone and is baffling when he’s on. He also surrendered 36 home runs this summer, third-most in the major leagues.

And zilch from the Cubs.

Now, here comes Kluber, which is why Friday night’s loss could become dangerously pivotal for the Cubs. They didn’t even dent him in Game 1 in Cleveland. If they don’t figure something out, they’re in real danger of falling behind three games to one.

“I know it’s hard to come back from 2-1,” Chicago catcher Miguel Montero said. “But we’ve been there before and come back.

“I know it’s different in the World Series, but it shouldn’t be different because we’ve got a good team.”

The Cubs are hanging their blue caps on the fact that since they just saw Kluber, he’ll be easier to hit this time. As far as Zobrist is concerned, “We’re going to have to beat Kluber, anyway” if the Cubs are to win the World Series.

So why not Saturday?

“We know what to expect now,” outfielder Jason Heyward said. “Just try to keep it simple. Not do too much. You’ve got to take what he gives you. He’s probably not going to give you a lot.”

But, the Cubs figured out Clayton Kershaw with repeated viewings. So…

“He’s on three days’ rest,” Rizzo said. “Just throwing it out there, he isn’t going to be as sharp as he was in the first game.”

Rizzo paused, then wryly added, “Even if he is, I’m going to convince myself that he’s not.”

It isn’t just Kluber. The Indians now are 23-0 this season in games in which Miller and Cody Allen both pitch.

And while the Cubs have been shut out four times this postseason, Cleveland’s pitching has been off the charts: The Indians have racked up five shutouts against Boston, Toronto and now Chicago.

Maybe the Cubs could have avoided this one, maybe, had Jorge Soler run hard out of the box in the seventh inning when he skied a ball down the right-field line that Lonnie Chisenhall couldn’t catch against the wall. Thinking it was a fly out at first, Soler jogged partway down the first-base line. When the ball ricocheted away from Chisenhall, Soler turned on the afterburners and wound up with a standup triple.

Zobrist didn’t think Soler could have made it all the way around to score.

“No,” he said. “Chisenhall got back to it quick enough that [Soler] wouldn’t have been able to make it even if he was sprinting out of the box.”

Even explaining it that way, you wonder how in the world any player can Cadillac it partway down the line in a World Series game. It was bad form, especially in such a close, tense game.

As it is, the Cubs’ margin for error is getting smaller by the day. On a historic night in Wrigleyville, it wasn’t the way things were supposed to turn out.

Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.

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Terry Francona walked to the mound, and Chicago Cubs fans around the world thought the Cleveland Indians manager was doing them a favor.

Some favor.

Josh Tomlin was cruising Friday at Wrigley Field, two outs into the fifth inning of a scoreless game. The Cubs had two hits, both singles. Tomlin had thrown just 58 pitches.

“He was dealing,” my cousin texted me from London, where it was just past 3 a.m. “I can’t believe they pulled him.”

They did, or rather he did. Francona pulled Tomlin and brought in Andrew Miller.

If a less experienced or less respected manager makes that move, he’s setting himself up to be ripped for years to come. When Francona does it, he’s setting himself up to win a crucial World Series game.

Again. 

The guy has managed 11 of these games, and he’s won 10 of them. He would never say he has it figured out, but he sure does have a sense of what move to make and when.

“Perfectly managed game,” Pete Rose said on the Fox postgame show.

Later on that same show, Indians outfielder Coco Crisp called Francona “a comedian,” explaining how he keeps the clubhouse loose. That helps, but it also helps that he has just the right feel for when a game and a series require urgency.

He felt it Friday in Game 3, understanding that an Indians win would push the team ahead two games to one and set up ace Corey Kluber to potentially give them a commanding lead in Saturday night’s Game 4. Francona seemed to realize early on that this could be a low-scoring game, and he seemed to manage it early on to try to get a 1-0 win in nine innings.

He was out of position players by the end, and he had run through the best part of his bullpen. Extra innings would have been tough, but when Cody Allen struck out Javier Baez to end it, the Indians didn’t need extra innings.

Tomlin was dealing, but Francona didn’t want him to face pinch hitter Miguel Montero with the go-ahead run on second base. He was going to let Miller keep the game scoreless through the fifth, sixth and maybe even the seventh, giving his hitters more chance to get a lead.

He risked his team not scoring, and he risked Miller throwing so many pitches he wouldn’t be available or wouldn’t be effective Saturday. Instead, he got a seventh-inning run when Coco Crisp (batting for Miller) drove in pinch runner Michael Martinez with a one-out single. He got four outs from Miller on just 17 pitches, ensuring he’ll be at full strength again Saturday.

He needed nine more outs from Bryan Shaw and Allen, and he got those too.

He had his 1-0 win in nine innings. It was the first 1-0 win in a World Series game in 11 years and just the fifth in the last 30 years.

Indians fan will remember one of those well. It was the clinching Game 6 in 1995, 1-0 Atlanta Braves over the Indians.

That night in Atlanta, Indians manager Mike Hargrove pulled his starter two outs into the fifth inning of a scoreless game. The difference that night was that starter Dennis Martinez had already allowed nine baserunners on four hits and five walks.

Few knew it at the time, but Martinez almost didn’t start that game.

“When Dennis was warming up, he goes, ‘Mark, I don’t know if I can make it; my arm’s killing me,'” pitching coach Mark Wiley told me this month, when I was working on Bleacher Report’s story on the Indians of the 1990s. “Dennis went out there, but he had absolutely nothing.”

Hargrove had little choice but to go to the bullpen. In the sixth inning, reliever Jim Poole gave up a David Justice home run for the game’s only run.

Until Friday, Martinez was the only starter in World Series history to go 4.2 innings without allowing a run, according to research through Baseball-Reference.com’s Play Index.

Now there are two, and this time it turned out a lot better for the Indians.

It turned out perfectly in a perfectly managed game during a perfectly managed month. Francona’s Indians are the first team ever with five shutouts in a single postseason.

Kluber started three of the five shutouts. In the other two, Francona pulled his starting pitcher in the fifth inning. He did it with rookie Ryan Merritt in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays and again with the more experienced Tomlin Friday night.

“Fine with me,” Tomlin told MLB Network. “Perfect scenario.”   

He understood, and now everyone does.

Terry Francona has this managing-in-October thing figured out.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

Follow Danny on Twitter and talk baseball.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The song remains the same for the Cleveland Indians in the 2016 World Series, as they used outstanding pitching and timely hitting to secure a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs and a 2-1 series lead. 

Cleveland also set a new Major League Baseball record in the process, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

Despite the wind blowing out at Wrigley, offense was nearly impossible to come by for both teams. The Indians had ample scoring opportunities against Kyle Hendricks, putting their leadoff hitter on three times in the first five innings, but were undone by two double plays. 

Hendricks was pulled with one out in the fifth inning and the bases loaded. Francisco Lindor, who was 2-for-2 at that point, grounded into an inning-ending double play to preserve the scoreless tie. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Indians were able to avoid double plays throughout the postseason before Friday:

On the Cubs side, they didn’t create scoring opportunities against Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin. They mustered just two hits and one walk on the right-hander in 4.2 innings.  

This was Tomlin’s third postseason start, and he’s only allowed nine hits and three runs in 15.1 innings. There were big questions about Cleveland’s starting depth behind Corey Kluber when the playoffs began, but Tomlin has given manager Terry Francona exactly what he’s needed. 

Per CBS Sports’ Jonah Keri, Tomlin’s success was dictated by his ability to mostly avoid the middle part of the plate:

Tomlin was pulled before the fifth inning was completed because the Cubs got Jorge Soler to second base. Andrew Miller was brought in to keep the game scoreless, which he was able to do when Miguel Montero lined out to right field. 

The Indians finally broke through in the top of the seventh inning when Coco Crisp delivered a pinch-hit RBI single that scored Michael Martinez for a 1-0 lead. 

Per Baseball Reference, Crisp became just the fourth player in the last 16 years to record a pinch-hit go-ahead RBI:

However, the downside for that was Cleveland had to remove Miller after he threw just 17 pitches and struck out the side in the bottom half of the sixth to make it happen.

In case you were wondering, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted out the still-ridiculous numbers for Miller this postseason:

Cody Allen was still lurking in the ‘pen, but Francona went with Bryan Shaw in the seventh inning. 

The Cubs were given a gift with two outs when Cleveland right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall misplayed a ball off the bat of Jorge Soler that was scored as a triple. But Javier Baez grounded out to end the threat. 

Shaw recorded five outs before a two-out single in the eighth inning by Dexter Fowler sent Francona to the mound for Allen to record the last four outs. 

There was plenty of drama in the bottom of the ninth inning against Allen. Anthony Rizzo led off with a single and was lifted for pinch-runner Chris Coghlan. Ben Zobrist struck out and Willson Contreras grounded out, leaving Jason Heyward with a shot at redemption for his forgettable debut season in Chicago. 

Heyward did reach base after Cleveland first baseman Mike Napoli was charged with an error trying to corral a difficult hop, leaving runners on first and third for Baez. Allen got Chicago’s young star to chase a high fastball for strike three to end the game. 

The Cubs bats have been silenced through three games in this series, even factoring in their five-run output in Game 2, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Bleacher Report’s Danny Knobler noted the Cubs also tied a 111-year-old record with their loss on Friday:

Even though the Cubs playing their first World Series game at Wrigley in 71 years was the dominant story before first pitch, Cleveland’s continued excellence on the mound remains the biggest story of the postseason. 

Joe Posnanski of NBC Sports is marveling at what the Indians have done given the competition they have faced:

That pitching has been necessary because Cleveland’s offense has scored a total of 35 runs in 11 playoff games. 

This game couldn’t have worked out better for Francona heading into Game 4. Corey Kluber, who threw just 88 pitches in six shutout innings in Game 1, will start. Miller will likely have no restrictions after throwing fewer than 20 pitches on Friday after not pitching the previous two days. 

The Cubs will counter with John Lackey, who has given up five runs in eight innings this postseason. It’s the only game of the series in which Cleveland will have a decided advantage in the pitching matchup, which makes Friday’s win even more crucial for the American League champions. 

The Cubs were just in this position during the National League Championship Series and proceeded to rattle off three consecutive wins, starting with a 10-2 victory in Game 4 when Lackey started. 

In other words, this series remains far from over. 

Postgame Reaction

The Indians were in unfamiliar territory playing in a National League park, which led to Francona navigating his bench with multiple double-switches that left him little wiggle room in the event the game would have gone to extra innings. 

Francona was aware of the situation he put his team in with all of the moves made during the game. 

“We needed to win that game in 9 [innings],” Francona said after the win, per Nick Camino of WTAM 1100. 

Cleveland pitching coach Mickey Callaway offered high praise for the work being done by Francona in this postseason. 

“He almost used some guys tonight that weren’t on the roster,” Callaway said, per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “There’s no better manager than him.”

Tomlin, who once again continues to defy all expectations this October, said there was no magic formula for holding the Cubs at bay in Game 3. 

“Just kind of knowing what the game plan was going in, and just trying to execute,” Tomlin said, per Bastian and Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. “You leave the ball over the heart of the plate with those guys, they can put up a crooked number in a hurry. So it was about trying to execute pitches and keep them off balance as much as I could.”

Cubs manager Joe Maddon did have some criticism for the way his offense went about attacking Cleveland’s pitching.

“I thought it was a well-played game,” Maddon said, per Bastian and Muskat of MLB.com. “I thought we played great defense again tonight. We were just out of the zone way too often. We’ve got to get our strike zones organized offensively, and if we do, we’ll be fine.”

In their Game 2 win, the Cubs were able to work eight walks against Indians pitchers to go along with nine hits. They had just one walk Friday. 

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