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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.

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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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Another dominant pitching performance from Cleveland’s entire staff was combined with one clutch hit to give the Indians a 1-0 win over the Chicago Cubs in Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Indians take a 2-1 lead in the series, halfway to their first title since 1948.

Pinch hitter Coco Crisp singled in Michael Martinez with one out in the top of the seventh for the game’s only run, all Cleveland would need with four pitchers combining on a five-hitter. Starter Josh Tomlin only allowed two hits but was pulled after 4 2/3 innings to make way for Andrew Miller, who threw 1 1/3 innings to pick up the while Bryan Shaw went 1 2/3 innings and closer Cody Allen finished it with 1 1/3 innings.

Chicago starter Kyle Hendricks struck out six but allowed six hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings, the first of six pitchers for the Cubs. It was Carl Edwards who got the loss.

The Cubs were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and had zero hits with runners on base. Jorge Soler tripled with two outs in the eighth and didn’t score, and in the ninth they had runners on second and third with two out but Javier Baez struck out to end the game.

The Indians will send ace Corey Kluber out for Game 4 on Saturday, while the Cubs will send veteran John Lackey to try to even the series.

Scroll down for all of our updates, analysis, pictures, tweets and anything else worth noting from Chicago.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.

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Wrigley Field will host its first World Series game since 1945 when the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians square off Friday night with the Fall Classic knotted at one game apiece. If the National League Championship Series was any indication, the atmosphere should be electric.  

“Tomorrow’s going to be unbelievable,” Indians first baseman Mike Napoli said Thursday, according to the Associated Press’ Jay Cohen. “I watched when they clinched to go to the World Series and how crazy it was and seeing the fans in the streets where they had to have police escorts. You could just see the crowd just part ways.”

With excitement building and the Windy City ready to party if the Cubs take a 2-1 lead behind starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, here’s a look at when and where you can catch all the action: 

What They’re Saying Before Game 3

Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber went 3-for-7 with a double and two RBI as a designated hitter in Games 1 and 2, but his role will be reduced now that the series has shifted back to Chicago. 

With the designated hitter out of play, the Cubs determined Thursday that Schwarber would not be able to play the field after he tore two ligaments in his left knee just six months ago. 

As a result, he’ll be relegated to pinch-hit duty.  

“This is not disappointing at all,” Schwarber said, per the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Gonzales. “It was a long shot at the most. Obviously, I want to be out there for my teammates. It’s the competitor inside me. But facts are facts. I just can’t physically do it. I’ll be ready during the game to pinch hit.”

And according to Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, it would be too risky for Schwarber to start in the outfield based on the severity of the injury he’s recovering from. 

“Medically, the doctors were very convicted there was too much risk in playing the outfield because of the dynamic actions involved, the instantaneous reactions, the need to cut in the outfield, the dynamic athletic moments that are unanticipated in the outfield,” he said, according to Gonzales. 

With Schwarber out of the starting lineup, Indians starter Josh Tomlin will attempt to tame a Cubs team that rattled off nine hits and chased starter Trevor Bauer from Game 2 after 3.2 innings. 

Take it from Indians manager Terry Francona, though: Tomlin doesn’t figure to be fazed by the size of the stage. 

“You talk about his demeanor, attitude or whatever,” Francona said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times’ Toni Ginnetti. “I just think he’s built to pitch good all the time. I think when you get challenged, like [Friday] is going to be an incredible atmosphere, it feels good to send him to the mound.”

The Indians are 2-0 in Tomlin’s starts this postseason, and his cumulative 2.53 ERA against the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays suggests he’ll be able to find success even though he’ll take the mound in a hostile environment. 

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As the World Series moves to Wrigley Field for the first time since 1945, the emphasis at the venerable National League ballpark is on the change of rules that does not allow for a designated hitter.

In most years, this is something that tends to hurt the American League representative, because that league has used the DH to bat for the pitcher since the 1973 season.

The National League never followed suit, and the leagues have competed under two sets of rules for 43-plus years.

The Cubs have gotten excellent production and a huge psychological lift from the return of Kyle Schwarber (torn knee ligaments), who manned the DH role in the first two games in Cleveland. Schwarber narrowly missed a home run in Game 1 when his deep drive to right field went off the top of the wall for a double, and he delivered two RBI singles in the Cubs’ Game 2 victory.

Shortly after that game ended, questions abounded on whether Schwarber would be able to play the field when the series moved to Chicago. Those questions were answered Thursday with a resounding no.

“Kyle has not been medically cleared to play the field, so he will not be in the lineup the next three games,” team president Theo Epstein told the media (h/t Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com). “But we do look forward to him impacting the game as a pinch hitter for us, and certainly should the series return to Cleveland, he’ll be eligible to continue as a designated hitter.”

Game 3 will be played Friday night at 8:08 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox.

While Schwarber won’t be in the starting lineup, the Cubs will send Kyle Hendricks to the mound against Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin.

On the basis of the way those two have pitched this year, Hendricks would appear to have the advantage. He is a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate as he finished the regular season with a 16-8 record and a superb 2.13 earned run average along with a 0.979 WHIP.

Hendricks was on the mound for the Cubs in their pennant-clinching victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series. Hendricks pitched 7.1 shutout innings as he allowed just two hits and struck out six. He did not give up a single base on balls.

Tomlin was 13-9 with a 4.40 ERA and a 1.190 WHIP during the regular season. He has pitched quite well in the postseason with a 2-0 record, a 2.53 ERA and a 0.938 WHIP.

Even if both pitchers are on top of their games, this could be a high-scoring game. The weather is likely to have an impact, because this late-October game is expected to start with temperatures at 63 degrees, according to Weather.com. Additionally, the winds will be blowing out to centerfield. 

When the wind is blowing in at Wrigley, low-scoring games are the rule. When the wind is blowing out, routine fly balls can turn into long home runs.

Prediction: Indians win 8-6

Look for the excitement level to be off the charts at Wrigley Field, and for the two teams to play an exciting back-and-forth game.

The Indians ultimately come out ahead because their bullpen comes through and the Chicago relief pitchers weaken.

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All the betting trends seemed to be on the side of the Cleveland Indians after they won Game 1 of the World Series in a 6-0 rout Tuesday.

But the Chicago Cubs returned the favor in Game 2 with a 5-1 victory. They find themselves as large -200 favorites Friday (wager $200 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark in Game 3 at Wrigley Field, in part because they have the best home pitcher in baseball taking the mound for them.

Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks (game log) not only had the lowest ERA in MLB overall this year at 2.13, but he was also unreal at home with a 9-2 mark and 1.32 ERA in 15 games. Last season, he was 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 games at Wrigley Field, showing what a big difference a year can make.

In fact, the emergence of Hendricks, improvement of Jon Lester and addition of John Lackey alongside Game 2 winner Jake Arrieta made the team’s four-man starting rotation the best in the big leagues.

Cleveland is not so lucky, as it depends more on an outstanding bullpen and ace Corey Kluber, who shut down the Cubs in Game 1 and is scheduled to start again on short rest Saturday in Game 4 at Wrigley.

In Game 3, the Indians will be sending Josh Tomlin (game log) to the hill following two solid postseason outings against the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. Tomlin went 2-0 in those games with a 2.53 ERA, allowing three runs and seven hits in 10.2 innings with three walks and 10 strikeouts.

During the regular season, Tomlin was 8-4 in 15 road starts with a 4.31 ERA, and opposing batters hit .257 against him.

Tomlin will not have to worry about facing Chicago’s Kyle Schwarber, who was not medically cleared to play in the outfield after going 3-for-7 with a double and two RBI as the designated hitter in the first two games at Cleveland.

The Indians have won six of their last seven games at National League ballparks in interleague play after dropping eight of 11. The over has gone 9-5-1 in their past 15 interleague road games, and the under has cashed in the first two games of the World Series.

Chicago heads into Game 3 as the -225 favorite on the updated World Series odds.

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Kyle Hendricks might win the National League Cy Young Award. He’s MLB‘s reigning ERA king. By any measure, 2016 has been a very good year for the Chicago Cubs right-hander.

On Friday, he has a chance to cement his breakout season and go from very good to immortal by pitching the Cubbies to the championship brink.

Nothing will be decided in Game 3. But with the series knotted 1-1, it’s a pivotal contest. In World Series history, teams with a 2-1 advantage have won it all 56 times and lost just 27 times, per WhoWins.com.

It’s a big game symbolically, too. The North Side is hosting the Fall Classic for the first time since 1945. The ghosts of Wrigley Field will be out in force. A victory would quiet their groaning.

Momentum is fleeting and impossible to quantify. And nothing’s guaranteed, especially against a resilient Cleveland Indians club that hasn’t lost two games in a row since September 28.

Hendricks, however, has worked magic all season on the mound at 1060 W. Addison St.

In 95.1 innings at home in the regular season, Hendricks went 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA. He’s made all three of his postseason starts at Wrigley and posted a 1.65 ERA.

He twirled an absolute masterpiece in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, outdueling Clayton Kershaw and facing the minimum number of hitters over 7.1 shutout frames.

“Starts with maybe the clubhouse, the fans,” Hendricks said of his Wrigley mastery, per Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News. “It just feels like I’m right at home, honestly.” 

That explains why manager Joe Maddon tinkered with his rotation, moving Jake Arrieta up to the No. 2 slot and bumping Hendricks down to No. 3. Arrieta—who wobbled in the second half and the postseason—made his manager look brilliant with a strong showing in Game 2 on Wednesday. 

Now, it’s Hendricks’ turn.

An eighth-round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 2011, Hendricks was traded to the Cubs for pitcher Ryan Dempster in 2012. He posted a 2.46 ERA in 13 starts with Chicago in 2014, and in 2015 he logged a 3.95 ERA in 180 innings. 

This year, he took a Sonic the Hedgehog-sized leap forward.

He’ll never singe the radar gun; his fastball tops out in the low-90s. Instead, he relies on command—stealing strikes with his curveball, inducing ground balls with his sinker and keeping hitters off balance with his plus changeup.

CBS Chicago’s Chris Emma contrasted Hendricks’ numbers to those of his Cleveland counterpart:

Hendricks forced ground balls at a 48.4 percent rate this season, and has a home run-to-fly ball rate of just 9.3 percent, good for third in baseball. His Game 3 foe, Josh Tomlin, was third-worst in home runs per nine innings at 1.86 and fourth-worst in HR/FB at 17.7 percent.

One could think the Cubs have the edge on the mound for Game 3 of the World Series.

To be fair, Tomlin is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA in 10.2 postseason innings and hasn’t allowed a homer yet.

It helps that Hendricks is backed by the best defense in baseball. But the Greg Maddux comparisons seem less outlandish with each superlative outing.

Just ask Greg Maddux.

“He does all those things usually better than the guys he’s facing,” Maddux said of Hendricks, per ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers. “If it was a radar contest, then why play the game, right? Velocity is nice, but command and movement are better.”

Hendricks has next to zero history with the Indians. Among Cleveland hitters on the World Series roster, he’s faced only Coco Crisp, who has gone 0-for-3 against him.

A lack of familiarity often favors the pitcher, at least the first time through the lineup. Toss in Hendricks’ home dominance and the pent-up energy that’ll inevitably be behind him, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a legendary October showing.

If you think the enormity of the moment will speed things up for the 26-year-old, his skipper begs to differ.

“I’ve never seen him rush through anything,” Maddon said, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune. “I’m sure he takes his time brushing his teeth. I would imagine his cup of coffee takes two hours to drink.”

A low pulse under pressure. A sparkling home record. A chance to propel the Cubs one step closer to a parade and confetti 108 years in the offing.

This is a Moment, capital “M.” Hendricks simply needs to seize it.

All statistics current as of Thursday and are courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

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