One of the popular national narratives surrounding the Chicago Cubs is to talk about the 108-year dry spell since their last World Series title.
Another tact is to talk about the Billy Goat jinx that has been associated with the team since 1945, when the goat’s owner supposedly put a hex on the franchise for not allowing his pet into Wrigley Field for the World Series.
One more angle involves the ill-fated 2003 effort of a fan who pursued a foul ball that Chicago left fielder Moises Alou appeared to have an excellent chance of catching. When that ball wasn’t caught by Alou (or fan Steve Bartman, for that matter), the Cubs fell apart.
The current Chicago Cubs don’t care about history or curses. They are preparing to play Game 6 of the World Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland at 8:08 p.m. ET, and their goal is simply to score one more run than the Indians and move on to a decisive seventh game of the World Series.
“We’re too young. We don’t care about it. We don’t look into it,” Kris Bryant told FS1’s Ken Rosenthal (h/t Larry Brown Sports via MSN.com) after the Cubs earned their spot in the World Series by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
The Cubs will send 2015 Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta to the mound to face Josh Tomlin. Arrieta was credited with the victory in Game 2 of the World Series, while Tomlin was on the mound in Cleveland’s 1-0 win in Game 3 before turning the game over to the Indians’ outstanding relief pitchers.
The Cubs were behind 3-1 in the series, but they picked up their first World Series win at Wrigley Field since 1945 when they defeated the Indians 3-2 in Game 5.
Bryant keyed a fourth-inning three-run rally with a leadoff home run in that inning, and the Cubs preserved the lead behind the pitching of Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman.
Chapman came on with one out in the seventh inning and kept the Indians from mounting a rally that would have tied the score or given them the lead.
Chapman had seemed most comfortable in one-inning close-out assignments, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon had talked to him about a longer assignment prior to the game.
“I talked to ‘Chappy’ before the game, so he was aware,” Maddon told the media after the game (h/t David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune).
In addition to having Arrieta on the mound, the Cubs will also have Kyle Schwarber manning the designated hitter role in Game 6. Schwarber, who tore two knee ligaments in early April, has not been cleared to play the field, but he demonstrated his offensive talent by picking up three hits in the first two games in Cleveland.
Schwarber has magnificent power, an excellent eye and the potential to help the Cubs extend the World Series to seven games.
Prediction
Look for Arrieta and Tomlin to both pitch solid games, but neither pitcher will shut down the opposition.
The score will remain tied until late in the game, and that’s when the Cubs will rally and take the lead.
Chapman will once against get the ball and Maddon will ask him to pitch in the the eighth inning as well as the ninth.
The left-handed reliever will be pushed to the limit, but he will get the save and the Cubs will force the series to seven games.
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