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The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians have both earned adoration by punching their tickets to the World Series. Only one long-suffering MLB franchise can obtain a happy ending.

Some people might have heard that the Cubs haven’t won a championship in a while. Cleveland can’t match the century-long misery, but it hasn’t captured a title since 1948. 

Both droughts, further illuminated by ESPN’s Buster Olney, explain why so many fans dreamed of this final matchup once the regular season concluded:

While Cleveland has already exceeded expectations by overcoming significant injuries, Chicago comes in as the juggernaut favored all along to win the Fall Classic. But Cubs fans know better than anyone that nothing is a done deal, and Cleveland dubiously receives home-field advantage thanks to the worst rule in sports.

Here’s a look at the World Series schedule along with predictions leading to a championship pick.

Don’t Count on Comebacks

Heading into Tuesday’s opening game, each squad harbors hope of a notable contributor returning from a lengthy absence.

Danny Salazar has not pitched since Sept. 9, and he followed a stellar first half by surrendering 29 runs over 32.2 innings after the All-Star break. Nevertheless, Cleveland can’t feel confident in getting another storybook outing from Ryan Merritt, who baffled the Toronto Blue Jays in his second career start to help clinch the American League pennant.

The team also must be careful with Trevor Bauer, whose bloody finger forced him out of his American League Championship Series start after he recorded two outs. According to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian, he is currently slated to pitch either Game 2 or Game 3.

Because of his rotation’s uncertainty, manager Terry Francona will turn to Salazar if he’s ready, which is looking like a realistic possibility. Per Bastian, the 26-year-old righty could make the roster and even start a game depending on the team’s impression of his Sunday simulated outing.

“If Danny pitches and he pitches healthy,” Francona said, “and he’s throwing the ball over the plate, we have a really good pitcher for however amount of innings he’s built up for, which can potentially help us.”

According to Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller, the team attempted to prepare him for a frenzied playoff atmosphere:

Salazar hasn’t lasted six innings in a start since July 19, so don’t anticipate anything more than three or four innings. In those frames, Chicago would wait out the erratic hurler, who issued 4.12 walks per nine this season. The Cubs’ 10.4 walk percentage, per FanGraphs, led the majors

An even bigger long shot to help, the Cubs have surprisingly left the door open for Kyle Schwarber‘s return. The 23-year-old tore his ACL two games into the season, but he took swings in the Arizona Fall League while the Cubs clinched the National League pennant.

Preparing to play as many as four games under AL rules, the Cubs wouldn’t mind retrieving the slugger, who belted five home runs last postseason. Per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, manager Joe Maddon said the circumstances keep his comeback alive:

It makes sense from a “leave no stone unturned” perspective, but Schwarber hasn’t faced major league pitching since early April. The Wall Street Journal‘s Jared Diamond approached the thought with skepticism:

Chicago has plenty of other options, most notably Jorge Soler. Maddon can keep catcher Willson Contreras in the lineup when David Ross starts with Jon Lester, who will likely take the mound in Game 1 or 2 at Progressive Field.

Predictions: If Salazar is available, Cleveland thinks better of the situation and limits him to a bullpen role with uninspiring results. The Cubs don’t include Schwarber on their World Series roster.

Chicago Cracks Cleveland’s Pitching

Despite facing two prolific lineups in the Boston Red Sox and Blue Jays, Cleveland enters the World Series wielding a 1.77 postseason ERA and 81 strikeouts in 71 innings. Corey Kluber, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen should give Francona valuable innings, but the Cubs can mitigate their value by attacking everyone else.

The same Josh Tomlin who allowed 36 home runs over 174 regular-season innings kept Boston and Toronto in the park. Righties registered an .845 OPS against the strike-tossing veteran, and the Cubs have a good one in MVP favorite Kris Bryant.

If healthy, Bauer is a shaky bet because of his 3.32 BB/9. Polar opposites in style, neither Salazar nor Merritt is a comfortable bet for a playoff start against an offense that upended the Los Angeles Dodgers with 23 runs over three straight victories.

“You knew it was going to happen,” Cubs outfielder Dexter Fowler said after Game 4’s 10-run outburst, per MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. “It was just a matter of when.”

Observers are well aware of Miller’s playoff brilliance. The dominant reliever has compiled 21 strikeouts over 11.2 scoreless innings. Cleveland won all six of his appearances, all by three runs or fewer.

Even with Francona optimizing his value in high-leverage situations, the Cubs can diminish his impact by jumping out to early leads. Look at Saturday’s victory over the Dodgers, in which Kenley Jansen threw three perfect innings in vain.

Predictions: Cleveland’s pitching staff falls down to earth against a surging Chicago lineup. Kluber, Miller and Allen keep the series interesting, but the Cubs counter with a deeper staff and more offensive firepower. As a result, the Cubs win their first title since 1908 in a six-game series.

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No matter who wins the 2016 World Series, history will be made. The Cleveland Indians’ last championship came in 1948. The Chicago Cubs’ last World Series appearance was three years earlier.

Facebook wasn’t even invented yet! Everyone’s internet was dial-up! There was only a Starbucks every two blocks instead of every block!

It’s amazing that people existed back in those times. But here we are, all this time later, with a pair of teams that took their own unique route to the Fall Classic.

The Indians are, by far, the bigger surprise. Experts who chose them to win the AL Central were in the minority—let alone those who picked them to win the American League. Their rotation behind Corey Kluber was seen as shaky, and their bullpen needed some work behind Cody Allen. No one questioned their offensive firepower, but games in October are time and again won with elite arms.

Cleveland has gone ahead and proved everyone wrong over the last few weeks, posting a 7-1 postseason record behind elite pitching. The Indians have given up more than five runs just once so far and have gotten by despite fielding a makeshift rotation at times.

Their Game 5 American League Championship Series starter, Ryan Merritt, had one career start and 11 innings on his MLB resume before contributing to a six-hit shutout of the Toronto Blue Jays. Merritt was only placed in that position after Trevor Bauer injured his hand while fixing a drone in the middle of a postseason run.

Had the Indians gone on to blow the ALCS, that drone incident would have been enough to push a “curse” conspiracy theory.

Cleveland can attribute a lot of its success to manager Terry Francona, who has pushed all the right buttons in this postseason run. He’s trusted reliever Andrew Miller to go multiple innings in each of his appearances, has known just when to pull a tiring starter and has kept his team loose amid the postseason pressure.

Second baseman Jason Kipnis told Kevin Kernan of the New York Post:

Tito is the forefront of us, in all we do. You are not going to find one guy in here who does not enjoy playing for him and doesn’t wish he would be their manager the rest of their careers.

Once you have a guy like Tito, you really don’t want anybody else to manage you. You are like, ‘This is the way it should be, this is the way I want it to be, this is the way I enjoy it.’ He’s so much fun and he lets you be who you are.

Joe Maddon can take just as much credit in the triumph of these Cubs. Brought over as part of Theo Epstein’s master rebuilding plan before last season, Maddon has won 200 regular-season games in two years. If Chicago wins more than two games in this series, he will have surpassed his postseason win total with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Epstein has been at the forefront of the headlines over the last few days for good reason. Brought over after an unfortunately tense exit from Boston, the Cubs president enacted one of the best slow rebuilds in recent history. He stocked the prospect cupboards with elite bats, bided his time in free agency and then pounced when everything was ready to culminate.

The Cubs posted a ridiculous plus-252 run differential during the regular season. While they didn’t wind up blasting records as projected, it’s hard to do much better than rank third in runs scored and first in runs against.

“I think sometimes in the game today, it gets to the point where it’s just about acquiring a number,” Maddon said, per Tyler Kepner of the New York Times. “I’m a big believer in that, but I also like the balance between the person and what the back of his baseball card says. Our guys do a wonderful job of balancing the math with the actual person.”

Chicago enters this series as a heavy favorite, listed at minus-185 at Odds Shark. The depth of its roster is hard to contend with. If you get past Jon Lester, here comes Jake Arrieta. If you get past Arrieta, Kyle Kendricks and John Lackey are right behind him. It’s hard to imagine a lineup starting better than Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist.

Oh yeah, sure you can. You can add Kyle Schwarber to the end of that. He has made progress in his rehab and may wind up being available for designated hitter duties in the Fall Classic.

“He asked for a chance to do this,” Epstein said, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. “With as hard as Kyle has worked and as much as this means to him—and potentially us—we wanted to give him that opportunity.”

Even if Schwarber winds up being available for only pinch-hitting duty, he would give the Cubs another weapon in their seemingly endless arsenal. It’s hard to look at the talent on the two sides of the diamond and come up with any other outcome than a Cubs win.

The Indians have an almost-unhittable back end of their bullpen, but getting to Miller and Allen will be hard against this lineup. After more than a century, the Cubs are primed for another World Series championship.

Prediction: Cubs in six.

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A long drought is going to come to an end at the conclusion of the 2016 World Series between the National League champion Chicago Cubs and the American League champion Cleveland Indians.

The Cubs have not been to the World Series since 1945, when they lost in seven games to the Detroit Tigers. Chicago’s last World Series title came in 1908, and that was before the team called Wrigley Field home.

The Indians are baseball royalty in comparison. The Tribe last made it to the World Series in 1997, when they lost in seven heartbreaking games to the Florida Marlins (not yet rebranded as the Miami Marlins). Cleveland had the lead in the ninth inning of the seventh game but could not hold onto that advantage.

The Indians last won the World Series in 1948, surviving a one-game playoff with the Boston Red Sox to win the American League pennant and defeating the Boston Braves in six games to win the championship.

One of those droughts is about to go by the wayside, as one of these excellent teams will soon triumph in the World Series.

The city of Chicago went through a catharsis Saturday night when the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 in the sixth game of the National League Championship Series to clinch a long-awaited pennant.

The celebration outside Wrigley Field lasted until morning as Cubs fans laughed, cried, partied and broke out in song.

The World Series will start in Cleveland Tuesday night, and the Cubs will bring a dominant team to Progressive Field. The starting rotation includes Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and John Lackey, and it appears likely that Arrieta or Lester will get the start in Game 1.

Arrieta was scheduled to start Game 7 versus the Dodgers if that had been necessary, but Chicago manager Joe Maddon did not make pronouncements on his Game 1 starting pitcher during the middle of the pennant celebration.

The Indians don’t appear to have the depth among their starters to compare to the Cubs. Corey Kluber is the ace and has been effective throughout the postseason. However, Josh Tomlin is the only other regular starter who is not battling an injury, and he appears to be hittable. He had a 13-9 record with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP in the regular season.

Starters Danny Salazar, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer (cut pinkie) are all hurt, and that means Cleveland manager Terry Francona will have to rely on a sensational bullpen led by Andrew Miller.

The Cubs have a powerful lineup, which is led by Kris Bryant (39 HR, .554 slugging percentage) and Anthony Rizzo (32 HR, 109 RBI) and has outstanding supporting players, including Dexter Fowler (.393 on-base percentage), Javier Baez (14 HR, 59 RBI), Addison Russell (21 HR and 95 RBI) and Ben Zobrist (18 HR, 76 RBI).

The Indians have a couple of power hitters in Mike Napoli (34 HR) and Carlos Santana (34 HR), and they also have a fine supporting cast in Francisco Lindor (.301 average, 78 RBI), Jason Kipnis (23 HR, .469 slugging percentage) and Lonnie Chisenhall (.286 average).

The Cubs, who won 103 games to lead Major League Baseball, are strong favorites to come away with the World Series title. They are minus-185 favorites (bet $185 to win $100) to win the title, according to Odds Shark.

The Indians are plus-160 underdogs (bet $100 to win $160).

A dramatic World Series is about to unfold, and each voracious fanbase is hopeful that its long World Series dry spell will come to an end.

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At long last, the 2016 World Series is set. 

While the Cleveland Indians punched their ticket on Wednesday—which feels like an eternity ago—the Chicago Cubs broke through and captured their first National League pennant since 1945 on Saturday with a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field. 

And now that the matchup is official, we can start to pore over the initial odds for this year’s Fall Classic, which have been provided by OddsShark.com: 

Although the Cubs needed six games to put away the Dodgers, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they’re solid favorites to take home their first World Series title in 108 years.

Chicago was a -130 (bet $130 to win $100) favorite to win the World Series following its Game 5 win in Los Angeles, with the Indians holding firm at +160 (bet $100 to win $160).

But now that it’s a sure thing that the Cubs will be representing the NL in the Fall Classic, it makes sense that their odds would increase in a way that reflects their recent play and season-long trends. 

Chicago was the class of MLB all season long and won a league-best 103 games, and the postseason has offered the Cubs a chance to sustain their success despite a few brief hiccups. 

While they once trailed L.A. 2-1, the Cubs mounted a fierce charge and rattled off three straight wins that saw them outscore the Dodgers 23-6 with a couple of strong pitching performances from some of their most dynamic arms. 

Jon Lester was sensational in Game 5, scattering five hits, striking out six and allowing one earned run in seven innings. Then, Kyle Hendricks pitched the game of his life on Saturday, with 7.1 scoreless innings of two-hit ball. 

So while the Indians have wielded the postseason’s most dangerous pitching staff (1.77 ERA, .206 opponent average), the Cubs’ stable of aces can’t be overlooked. 

And if Chicago’s bats get hot, Cleveland could be in real trouble. 

Through nine postseason games, the Cubs have scored a playoff-best 43 runs. Comparatively, the Indians have scored 27 runs in eight games. 

With Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Dexter Fowler all ready to strike at a moment’s notice, the Cubs have the firepower to supplement one of MLB’s strongest starting staffs and take home a title. 

Based on the way things have played out over the past week, the smart money should be on Chicago to snap the most famous drought in sports. 

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For the baseball fan who appreciates the historical aspect of the game, the Chicago Cubs clinching the National League Championship Series on Saturday night with a 5-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers set up a dream World Series against the Cleveland Indians.

Before we get into the final teams remaining, here’s a look at the postseason bracket:

Odds To Win World Series

Odds relayed by Odds Shark

Cleveland Indians: 163-100

Chicago Cubs: 50-59

Predictions

Cubs defeat Indians in seven games for World Series title

These will be two teams with conflicting amounts of rest heading into the World Series. Come Tuesday, the Indians will have had over five days of rest while the Cubs will have had two. 

There are opposite views that come up about rest. Some believe a break is good for a weary team that has played over 170 games in a season. Others will say it quells the momentum gained through a busy October schedule. 

One thing that is certain is the dominant Indians pitching is coming into the Fall Classic fresh off resounding performances in the American League Division Series and American League Championship Series. 

In eight games, they went 7-1 with with a 1.77 ERA while allowing just 15 runs. Though it’s been a makeshift rotation of sorts behind Corey Kluber, Cleveland’s bullpen has been stellar behind Andrew Miller, who struck out 14 batters in 7.2 innings in the ALCS:

However, Cleveland’s offense has struggled in the postseason, batting just .208. They’ve relied on the long ball during October, launching 11 home runs compared to their 26 RBI. 

They’re going to be meeting a Cubs team that has allowed just four home runs in 10 postseason games, so that option could be in jeopardy in the World Series. 

On top of that, the Chicago offense has ignited to look like the one that led the majors with 4.99 runs per game during the regular season.

After being shut out twice in a row by the Dodgers in Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS, the Cubs scored 23 runs on 33 hits over their last three games. 

They’ve also scored 21 more runs than the Indians have this postseason, although the Cubs have played three more games.

But with their ability to get after Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw on Saturday, Cubs bats look unstoppable:

Heading into the Fall Classic, the Chicago Cubs are playing a more well-rounded brand of baseball, which is why they’ll squeak out their first World Series title in 108 years in seven games. 

Stats courtesy of MLB.com.

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If you were to go up to any baseball fan in years past and tell them that the Chicago Cubs would meet the Cleveland Indians for Major League Baseball’s championship, there’s a good chance they would laugh in your face. 

But after the Cubs defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the NLCS from Wrigley Field on Saturday night, that’s the exact matchup we’ll have in the 2016 World Series, via MLB: 

Here is how the schedule will look for the Fall Classic, beginning on Tuesday:

There will be a very long, tortured drought that comes to an end at the conclusion of this series. 

The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908, while the Indians haven’t reigned triumphant since 1948. 

However, one drought has come to an end with Chicago’s win on Saturday night, as it clinched its first National League pennant since 1945. 

A well-rested Indians team will be waiting for the Cubs after it took down the Toronto Blue Jays in five games in the ALCS that ended on Wednesday. 

Thanks to an American League victory in the All-Star Game in San Diego, the Indians will also be hosting an opening game of the World Series for the first time in franchise history. 

With a struggling offense that’s batted .208 in the postseason, Cleveland has been reliant on the long ball and pitching, which has riddled opposing batters all throughout October. 

In eight games, Indians pitching has allowed just 15 runs with a 1.77 ERA while compiling a 7-1 record. It’s been headlined by reliever Andrew Miller, who won the ALCS MVP thanks to his dominance, via SportsCenter: 

But they’ll be playing a Cubs offense that exploded to life in the final three games of the NLCS. 

After two straight shutouts at the hands of the Dodgers in Games 2 and 3, Chicago has reeled off 23 runs on 33 hits in its last three games. 

With the big bats of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and now Javier Baez, this World Series could be a case of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object in Cleveland pitching. 

And with both teams playing against history, this could be one of the most exciting Fall Classics we’ll see in quite some time. 

Stats courtesy of MLB.com. 

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With the Cleveland Indians waiting for their opponent and the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers nearing its conclusion, World Series predictions continue to roll in for the three teams still alive in the 2016 playoffs.

While it isn’t surprising that the Cubbies have made it this far considering they had the best record in Major League Baseball during the regular season, pre-playoff picks suggest few expected the Indians and Dodgers to still be in the hunt at this point.

As the start of the Fall Classic draws closer, here is a look at predictions for the World Series winner from some of the top experts in baseball.

FiveThirtyEight

FiveThirtyEight uses statistical models to make predictions across multiple sports including baseball.

According to FiveThirtyEight.com, the Cubs are favored to win the World Series with a 51 percent chance, followed by the Indians at 39 percent and the Dodgers at 10 percent.

Chicago is also a heavy favorite in the NLCS with an 81 percent chance to get past L.A.

The numbers make plenty of sense, as the Cubs were the best team in baseball during the regular season and don’t seem to have a weakness.

Their starting rotation is great from top to bottom with Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. They also boast an elite closer in Aroldis Chapman.

On top of that, Chicago is capable of getting production from anywhere in its lineup thanks to the contributions of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist, among others.

Cleveland, on the other hand, is without ace pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, while Trevor Bauer’s status remains unclear after cutting his pinkie finger on a drone.

Despite that and everything the stats suggest, Tribe owner Paul Dolan believes his team may be meant to win it all, per Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com:

In February or March of many years, we foresee a team that can win. And then the story develops and something happens and we don’t. This has been that year where everything goes right. Even when something goes wrong, it turns into something right. I’ve heard ‘Team of Destiny’ mentioned a few times. It sure feels like something like that.

Both the Cubs and Indians have had unexplained collapses and shortcomings in the playoffs over the years despite fielding great teams.

The result is that Chicago hasn’t won the World Series since 1908, while Cleveland hasn’t accomplished its ultimate goal since 1948.

Both may be due to end their respective droughts from a statistical perspective, and FiveThirtyEight favors the Cubs to do precisely that.

ESPN

ESPN polled 32 of its experts prior to the start of the MLB playoffs, and only one of them has a chance to correctly call both World Series participants as well as the winner.

According to ESPN.com, Adam Rubin predicted a clash between the Indians and Cubs in the Fall Classic, which will occur if Chicago takes care of business in one of the next two games.

David Schoenfield also picked Cleveland to go all the way, but he picked the Indians to lose to the San Francisco Giants.

Eric Karabell was the only expert to predict the Dodgers would reach the World Series, but he had them losing to the Boston Red Sox.

Rubin chose the Cubs over the Indians in the World Series, but he was far from the only one to predict that Chicago would end its long title drought. In fact, 19 experts chose the Cubs, which was more than any other team, while no one chose the Indians or Dodgers.

The confidence in the Cubs is understandable, but recent history hasn’t been good to them when it comes to closing out the NLCS and reaching the World Series, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Regardless of whether the Cubs or Dodgers reach the World Series, they will be at somewhat of a disadvantage to the Indians.

The fact that Cleveland beat the Toronto Blue Jays in five games has given the team extra rest and allowed it to set up its starting rotation however it pleases.

That may not matter because the team lacks great starters behind Corey Kluber due to myriad injuries, but any rest in October is a luxury after such a long season.

USA Today

Like ESPN, USA Today polled multiple experts before the playoffs started, and they too were largely behind the Cubs to win it all.

While no expert correctly predicted the World Series since nobody chose the Indians to reach the Fall Classic, six of the seven had the Cubs making it to the end, while Gabe Lacques picked the Dodgers to win the NLCS.

Of the six experts who penciled in the Cubs as NL champions, Steve Gardner, Bob Nightengale, Jorge L. Ortiz and Ted Berg believed they would win the World Series as well.

Pressure is an immeasurable factor, but after winning the most games during the regular season and getting picked by so many to end its supposed World Series curse, Chicago is under the most pressure to win.

Cleveland is playing with house money to some degree since none of the aforementioned experts picked the Indians to win, likely because their starting rotation as been depleted.

The Indians do have a big advantage over both the Cubs and Dodgers in the bullpen, though, as Cody Allen and championship series MVP Andrew Miller carried them through the first two rounds by pitching in any and all situations.

Miller, in particular, put forth an historic performance to push the Tribe into the World Series:

Bullpen dominance has gone a long way toward championship success in recent years, as the Kansas City Royals largely rode their relievers to a World Series triumph last season.

The Indians have a chance to do the same, but they’ll still be heavy underdogs if the Cubs can seal the deal against the Dodgers.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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The Cleveland Indians earned home-field advantage for the 2016 World Series by virtue of the American League’s All-Star Game triumph over the National League, which means we can officially take a look at how the schedule for this year’s Fall Classic will shape up.

The best-of-seven championship series will pit the Indians against either the Chicago Cubs or Los Angeles Dodgers, and odds favor the Cubs even though they’ve historically failed to break through when presented with the opportunity.

Chicago is 0-6 in its last six National League Championship Series games with a trip to the World Series on the line, per ESPN Stats & Info, but data from WhoWins.com suggests the Cubs are in a spot to exorcise those demons.

Specifically, teams holding 3-2 leads in a best-of-seven format have gone on to win the series 70.4 percent of the time in a 98-series sample.

So before taking a peek at how the Indians will try to quell their eventual National League competition, here’s a rundown of when and where you can catch this year’s World Series:

While it’s impossible to make a firm prediction for the World Series without knowing who the Indians will square off against, we can examine how they would fare against their prospective competition after they didn’t play a single game against the Cubs or Dodgers in the regular season.

From a pitching standpoint, Cleveland has been head and shoulders above the rest of its postseason peers.

The Indians boast a 1.77 ERA through eight playoff games, which compares favorably to the Cubs’ mark of 3.25 and the Dodgers’ tally of 4.60. Cleveland has also posted three shutouts—one less than all other playoff qualifiers combined.

Perhaps more frightening is the way Cleveland’s bullpen has performed.

To date, Indians relievers have posted a 1.67 ERA, 41 strikeouts and seven walks while holding opponents to a .212 average through 32.1 innings.

Conversely, the Cubs and Dodgers have bullpen ERAs of 3.71 and 4.29, respectively, in the playoffs, with opponents batting better than .240 against both units.

The good news for the NL contenders comes at the plate.

While none of the three remaining teams have bashed the ball to a stellar degree under the postseason lights, the Dodgers lead the pack with a .228 average and .322 on-base percentage.

That said, the Cubs lead the Dodgers in terms of total bases (119-115), doubles (18-9) and slugging percentage (.381-.355). The Indians are hanging steady with a .380 slugging percentage buoyed by 11 home runs.

Predicting a winner based on those comparisons alone would be foolish, but the Indians have to feel good about their chances considering the way their pitching staff has dominated in conjunction with a solid offense that has found ways to generate power and produce runs to create sufficient cushions.

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In Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, the Chicago Cubs will take on the Curse of the Billy Goat and Clayton Kershaw will take on the narrative.

It wouldn’t be October without a big chance for Kershaw to prove he can be a clutch postseason performer. Saturday’s Game 6 assignment will be his best chance yet, as the Los Angeles Dodgers will need a good performance from their ace to get out of a 3-2 hole and force a Game 7.

Meanwhile, Kyle Hendricks will be trying to pitch the Cubs into their first World Series since 1945. The Wrigley Field crowd would no doubt appreciate it if he did.

First pitch will happen shortly after 8 p.m. ET. Let’s pass the time by looking at three keys for each team to win Game 6.

Keys for the Los Angeles Dodgers

For Clayton Kershaw, Keep Pounding Those Fastballs

We all know about Kershaw‘s struggles in the postseason, but he’s still the best pitcher on the planet and the best hope for the Dodgers to get back on track after dropping Games 4 and 5.

Or as first baseman Adrian Gonzalez told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, “We can grab back that momentum with one name—Kershaw.”

A repeat of Kershaw‘s start in Game 2 would do nicely. He pitched the Dodgers to a 1-0 win with seven scoreless innings in which he allowed just two hits and a walk. He wasn’t messing around, and Brooks Baseball shows he went right at the Cubs with his highest fastball percentage of the season:

Why go right at the Cubs? Well, here’s a better question: Why not go right at the Cubs?

The defining characteristic of Chicago’s offense is its patience. Few teams swung less often in the regular season, and few teams expanded the strike zone less often. These things were big factors in the team’s NL-best .343 on-base percentage.

Kershaw is the perfect pitcher to combat this habit and make the Cubs beat him the hard way. Only fellow Dodger Rich Hill pounded the zone more often in 2016.

And if Kershaw sticks with his fastball to do so in Game 6, he’ll be relentlessly pounding the Cubs with 93-94 mph heat. Per Baseball Savant, their offense only tied for 15th in batting average when attacking that kind of heat in the zone.

Come Out Swinging Against Kyle Hendricks

Kershaw may be the best pitcher on the planet, but Hendricks is no slouch. He led baseball with a 2.13 ERA in the regular season. No wonder he’s not sweating Game 6.

“This is still the same game,” he said, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune. “You’re making the same pitches. It’s the same lineup. There’s just more going on (on) the outside.”

It presumably will be the same lineup Hendricks faced in Game 2, when he allowed one run in 5.1 innings. The Dodgers did well to work him for four walks. But if they want to get to him, they should make like Merrill Hess and swing away.

Attacking Hendricks early makes sense on two fronts. One is within his first 25 pitches, where he was relatively hittable, allowing a .693 OPS this season. On another, this chart from Baseball Savant shows he’s most vulnerable early in counts:

Here’s a simpler breakdown: Hitters hit .302 against Hendricks on 0-0, 1-0 and 0-1 counts and just .172 in all other counts.

The trick is to avoid his changeup. It’s his only swing-and-miss offering, and he throws it often. But he throws it most often in two-strike counts, when it makes up over 40 percent of his pitches.

Have Kenley Jansen on Speed Dial

If at all possible, the Dodgers do not want to use any reliever other than Kenley Jansen in Game 6.

This should be obvious in light of what Dodgers relievers not named Jansen have done in this series. Joe Blanton has served up two big home runs, and other relievers not named Jansen helped turn close games into laughers in the club’s last two losses.

Manager Dave Roberts seems to be more aware of how ugly it’s been than he wants to let on.

“I’m not going to shy away from any of these guys [in the bullpen],” he said after Game 5, per Eric Stephen of SB Nation. “But obviously you look at going into Game 6, Kenley’s going to have a few days off, and we’ve got our ace going. So it will give our guys a chance to reset. But again, these guys have gotten big outs for us all year long.”

Translation—I know they’re there, but I’d rather only Kershaw and Jansen pitch in Game 6.

Good idea. Jansen will indeed be well-rested after last being used in Game 3 on Tuesday. He’s also a good matchup for the Cubs in the same way Kershaw is a good matchup for them: He’s an aggressive strike-thrower with an overpowering fastball. The only difference is that Jansen’s is a cutter.

It shouldn’t be a big deal if Roberts needs Jansen before the ninth inning. He’s entered earlier than the ninth in four of his six appearances this postseason. He’s put a goose egg on the board each time.

If he can do so again in Game 6 after a Kershaw-like performance from Kershaw, this series could be tied.

Keys for the Chicago Cubs

Come Out Swinging Against Clayton Kershaw

Cubs hitters should approach Kershaw the same way Dodgers hitters should approach Hendricks.

The alternative is working Kershaw and trying to drive up his pitch count, with the idea being to get at the underbelly of the Dodgers bullpen. Or if that fails, possibly luring Kershaw into the kind of seventh-inning trap that tends to snare him in October.

However, the Cubs experienced the pitfall of taking such an approach against Kershaw in Game 2.

After swinging at just 45.4 percent of all pitches in the regular season, Baseball Savant put their swing rate in Game 2 at just 46.1 percent. Given how much Kershaw pounds the zone, it’s no wonder he got through seven innings on just 84 pitches before handing the ball to Jansen to close out Game 2.

Going into attack mode is a better idea when facing the three-time Cy Young winner. He has a similar count split to Hendricks, holding batters to a .276 average on 0-0, 1-0 and 0-1 counts and a .155 average on all other counts. 

Besides that, trying to work Kershaw is typically a good way to get into a two-strike count. On that note, check out where he ranked in OPS allowed with two strikes this season:

1. Clayton Kershaw: .281
2. Corey Kluber: .357

When you’re that much better at something than Corey Kluber, you’re really good at that something.

Let that be a warning to the Cubs. Don’t mess around. Swing the bats.

Sinkers and Changeups for Kyle Hendricks

Hendricks doesn’t normally need to be told to throw sinkers and changeups. ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers has some notes about why:

According to ESPN Stats & Information, he used [sinkers and changeups] more than 75 percent of the time in the regular season, keeping the ball in the lower third of the strike zone 56 percent of the time. The result was a .450 OPS on those pitches, by far the lowest among all qualified pitchers.

And yet, Hendricks got away from his two bread-and-butter pitches in Game 2. Only 51 of his 91 pitches (56 percent) were sinkers and changeups. Instead, he opted for one of the highest percentages of four-seam fastballs he’s used all season.

This may have been a reaction to the lineup he was facing. The Dodgers started only one right-handed hitter (Justin Turner) in Game 2, attacking Hendricks with left-handed hitters in the other eight spots in their lineup. Throughout the year, Hendricks generally has preferred his four-seamer against lefties.

The argument for sticking with his four-seamer against the same lineup in Game 6 is the .355 average lefties compiled against his sinker. But it’s a hollow .355, containing only eight extra-base hits (all doubles). Given that 53.5 percent of the sinkers lefties have put in play have been on the ground, that can continue in Game 6.

As for Hendricks’ changeup, there are no issues there. Lefties have hit just .135 against it this year. It’s not a pitch they’re jonesing to see.

No Lefties Left Behind

Here’s a not-so-hot take: The Cubs bullpen is better than the Dodgers bullpen. If Game 6 becomes a bullpen battle, the Cubs will have the advantage by default.

But if Chicago skipper Joe Maddon wants to press his advantage in Game 6, he’ll unleash the lefties.

You’ve probably heard about the Dodgers’ struggle against left-handed pitching. If not, well, they put up a .622 OPS against lefties this season, easily the worst of any team. If given a choice between facing a lefty and a root canal, they may go for door No. 2.

This is where Mike Montgomery, Travis Wood and Aroldis Chapman come into focus.

They’re three solid left arms for Maddon to throw at the Dodgers if need be, and he shouldn’t be afraid to use any one of them. Although Montgomery and Chapman have given up four earned runs in this series, they’ve also combined for four scoreless appearances. Wood has three of those of his own. In other words, these three have mostly been able to exploit the most obvious weakness on either side of this series.

If they can do it again in Game 6, the Cubs could find themselves in their first World Series in 71 years and that much closer to finally ending their 108-year championship drought.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted or linked.

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The Chicago Cubs might be one win away from making the World Series for the first time since 1945, but Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw stands in the way in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday night.

While the Dodgers look to stay alive and overturn a 3-2 series deficit, the Cleveland Indians will be waiting for the winner after their five-game triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. 

A quick turnaround awaits the National League champion, as the 112th Fall Classic will begin on Tuesday in Cleveland:

The final three teams have been thirsting for a title with significant droughts, with some obviously larger than others.

Odds Guide

Odds to Win World Series

Cleveland Indians: 163-100

Chicago Cubs: 50-59

Los Angeles Dodgers: 27-4

Relayed by Odds Shark

Cleveland Indians

World Series Appearances: 6 (including 2016)

World Series Wins: 2 

Last World Series Win: 1948

Last World Series Appearance: 1997

The Indians have shown throughout the 2016 season that they are one of the most well-rounded rosters in all of baseball, and that’s been highlighted through slumps and injuries. 

With a roster that’s lost starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, Cleveland’s arms have stepped up in a big way, especially this postseason, as they’ve been able to work alongside a limited offense that’s hit just .208:

In terms of starting pitching, ace Corey Kluber has been supported by veteran Josh Tomlin and the 25-year-old Trevor Bauer until the latter sliced his pinky open while repairing a drone. 

The most recent hero came in the form of Ryan Merritt, who started Game 5 after recording just one regular-season start during his rookie campaign, putting him in sparse company, per MLB Stat of the Day:

He went 4.1 innings, allowing just two hits in Game 5 to help the Indians clinch the pennant. 

In the bullpen, it’s been all about reliever Andrew Miller, who has been the definition of untouchable during October. The ALCS MVP has pitched 11.2 innings in the postseason, allowing no runs on just five hits while striking out 21 batters.

Against either a Dodgers or Cubs team that has scored over 30 runs during the postseason, that dominant Indians pitching will have to be just as good to secure a championship for the first time in 68 years. 

Chicago Cubs

World Series Appearances: 10

World Series Wins: 2 

Last World Series Win: 1908

Last World Series Appearance: 1945

The longest, most well-documented drought in major North American professional sports looks like it could come to an end this year. 

Baseball’s best regular-season team, with a 103-58 record, barnstormed through the league this year behind a core of young, powerful stars in the batting order and a strong pitching staff. 

But those big Chicago bats fell upon hard times in the postseason, as they scored one run or less in three games, including two straight shutouts in Games 2 and 3 of the NLCS.

They’ve come alive over the past two games, though, scoring a combined 18 runs on 26 hits, which is something that could cause any pitching staff stress.

Pair that with Jon Lester’s postseason dominance, and the Cubs will most likely feel confident about their title hopes if they can get by the Dodgers:

Getting to the World Series would be a massive accomplishment for this franchise regardless of what happens as they are one win away from breaking another sizable drought of 71 years without a Fall Classic appearance.

Los Angeles Dodgers

World Series Appearances: 18

World Series Wins: 6 

Last World Series Win: 1988

Last World Series Appearance: 1988

The last time the Dodgers were in the World Series, Kirk Gibson delivered one of the most memorable home runs in baseball history:

While a 28-year drought is a considerable one, it is nothing compared to the other two that could be ended this postseason. 

But the Dodgers have their back up against the wall for Game 6 of the NLCS. One more loss, and they will fall one series short of the World Series for the fourth time since 2008. 

Luckily for them, Kershaw is taking the hill and has already taken care of the Cubs once in the NLCS. In fact, he joined some elite company in shutting them out in Game 2, per ESPN Stats & Info:

He’s been the lone bright spot in a Dodgers pitching staff that has gotten hammered throughout the playoffs. In 10 games, they’ve allowed 50 runs, 45 of them earned, which will make it extremely difficult for the offense to overcome, even if the Dodgers can find a way to come back against the Cubs.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. 

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