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The postseason of the bullpens ran into an everlasting truth in the first two games of the World Series.

The team with the better starting pitcher still wins most games. And the team with more good starting pitchers has an edge over the team that doesn’t have enough.

Officially, this World Series is tied at a win apiece after Wednesday night’s 5-1 Chicago Cubs victory in Game 2. Realistically, the Cubs have a significant edge over the Cleveland Indians for the same reason they had a big edge in Game 2.

Overall, their starting pitchers are better.

Maybe you didn’t see it in Game 1, because Corey Kluber is a true ace who was able to outpitch Cubs star Jon Lester. You sure did see it in Game 2, because while Cubs starter Jake Arrieta was a perfect fit for the assignment, Trevor Bauer was just an Indians version of Julio Urias or Kenta Maeda.

Remember them? They were the guys the Los Angeles Dodgers had to send to the mound in Games 4 and Game 5 of the NLCS after back-to-back shutouts put the Cubs in a 2-1 hole in the series.

Urias went 3.2 innings. The Dodgers lost big.

Maeda went 3.2 innings. The Dodgers lost big.

Soon enough, the Cubs were out of the hole and headed to the World Series.

So there the Cubs were Wednesday, trying to recover from their Game 1 loss to Kluber. They turned to Arrieta, who won a Cy Young Award last year. The Indians went to Bauer, who has talent but can’t always harness it.

Bauer went 3.2 innings. Guess who won big?

It helped, obviously, that Arrieta didn’t give up a hit for the first five innings. It helped that the Cubs had Kyle Schwarber, whose miraculous return looks more amazing by the day.

But on a night where the cold weather made pitching difficult, the Cubs had a starter who was up for the job. The Indians didn’t.

Arrieta threw too many pitches (98 in 5.2 innings), and he admitted to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the cold weather kept him from getting a consistent feel of the ball.

“I did my best just to make some pitches,” he said.

That’s the difference between a guy who has won a Cy Young and a guy who has good stuff but is still far from figuring things out. Arrieta made pitches to get himself out of trouble, while Bauer kept making pitches that got him into trouble.

For all the questions after Game 1 about whether Andrew Miller’s 46 pitches would keep him out of Game 2, what really kept him out of Game 2 was the starting pitching mismatch. By making sure the Indians never got the lead, Arrieta kept Miller safely stowed away in the Indians bullpen.

Miller could still have a major impact on this World Series. So could Kluber, with the Indians making plans to start him on short rest in Game 4 and thus have him available to start a Game 7 (also on short rest).

But it’s going to take more than the two of them for the Indians to win it. They’re going to need a good performance from Josh Tomlin, who starts Game 3 against National League ERA champ Kyle Hendricks. They’re going to need someone to give them a chance in a Game 5 and a Game 6.

The Cubs have four legitimate World Series starters, with John Lackey set to go in Game 4. The Indians would have had the same thing if Danny Salazar (forearm) and Carlos Carrasco (hand) hadn’t got hurt in September.

It’s a credit to this team that it got this far without Carrasco and Salazar (who returned for the World Series and pitched out of the bullpen Wednesday). They deserve their place in the World Series, and they still could win it.

As big an edge as the Cubs starters have on paper, it’s no bigger than the edge Florida Marlins ace Kevin Brown had over Chad Ogea in Games 2 and 6 of the 1997 World Series. Ogea won both of those games and would have been the World Series MVP if the Indians had held on in Game 7.

The Indians are going to need another Ogea this week, another relative unknown to shine. Otherwise, the Cubs’ rotation edge will likely play out the way it did Wednesday night.

They had the better starting pitcher. They won the game.

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 Chicago Cubs tied the World Series with a 5-1 Game 2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

In a lengthy four-hour contest moved up due to weather concerns, the Cubs collected nine hits and eight walks. Every starter reached base, including Kyle Schwarber, who continued his highly improbable comeback with two RBI singles.

Despite struggling to throw strikes early, Jake Arrieta took a no-hitter into the sixth. He allowed one run over 5.2 frames to earn his first victory of the postseason.

Trevor Bauer, meanwhile, lasted only 3.2 innings for the Indians. While he experienced no issues with his injured finger, he relinquished six hits, two walks and two runs during his brief start.

The Fall Classic now heads to Wrigley Field for the first time since 1945 at a 1-1 stalemate.

FINAL SCORE: Cubs 5 – 1 Indians

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The World Series schedule is always announced in advance, and as soon as the All-Star Game is completed and the home-field advantage is assigned to the victorious league, it’s simply a matter of filling in the teams that are champions of their respective championship series.

Once the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians had established themselves as league champions, we knew they would play Game 2 of the World Series at Progressive Field Wednesday night at 8:08 p.m. ET.

That was the case, but not anymore. Major League Baseball, in receipt of a weather report that indicated rain was likely later on Wednesday night, switched the start time to 7:08 p.m. with the hope the Cubs and Indians will complete the game before heavy rain forces a halt to the action.

Fox will televise Game 2.

After Cleveland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the series behind the dominant pitching of Corey Kluber, the Indians will try to stretch their advantage to 2-0 behind Trevor Bauer. The Cubs, who want to even the World Series at 1-1 before returning home to Wrigley Field for Friday’s Game 3, will send 2015 Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta to the mound.

Bauer will have to overcome a cut on the pinkie finger of his pitching hand, as well as the Cubs’ sluggers. He lasted just 21 pitches when he started Game 3 of the American League Championship Series before he was removed because his injured finger was bleeding.

Bauer told reporters he was confident he would be able to pitch in the World Series without incident, but he also said he was confident that his finger would not bleed prior to his ill-fated ALCS start.

“I wouldn’t take the mound if I didn’t feel confident I’d be able to pitch and help the team,” Bauer explained to reporters. “So, yeah, I’m confident like I was back then too.”

Arrieta had an 18-8 record with a 3.10 ERA during the regular season, but he has not been on top of his game this postseason. He takes a 4.91 postseason ERA into his start Wednesday night.

Arrieta explained that pitching in the World Series was his motivation for playing baseball. 

“It’s why you play the whole season,” he told reporters. “To hopefully be in this position to be one of the last two teams standing with an opportunity to win a World Series for your organization, your city, for your team, friends and family. So it means a ton.”

While the Cubs lost Game 1, they got a lift from the return of Kyle Schwarber, who doubled off Kluber and drew a walk off reliever Andrew Miller. Schwarber had not played since suffering two torn knee ligaments in an early-April game at Chase Field in Arizona.

The Indians got a boost in the series opener from catcher Roberto Perez, who clubbed two home runs. He had hit three home runs during the regular season but morphed from light-hitting catcher to Game 1 hero with his performance Tuesday night. 

“Oh, I don’t think I’ve ever had a night like that,” Perez told reporters.

Despite the six-run loss, the Cubs remain confident. Shortstop Addison Russell told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team fought harder than the score indicated. 

“I think there’s a sour taste in our mouth tonight, because I think that we put up a better fight than that,” Russell said. “I went outside my approach and kind of pressed a little bit. But you turn the page. You stay hopeful and you get better tomorrow.”

If the Cubs don’t get better, they will be in an 0-2 hole when they return home to the Windy City, and that’s something they want to avoid.

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The awakening of the Cleveland Indians’ bats gave them a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs and a 1-0 lead in the World Series Tuesday, but the teams are back in action Wednesday night, when the Cubbies have a chance at redemption.

Cleveland rode the dominance of starter Corey Kluber and reliever Andrew Miller into the driver’s seat; however, Chicago is unlikely to see either of them in Game 2, which means it has a golden opportunity to even things up.

Ahead of Wednesday’s pivotal Game 2, here is a look at the top odds and bets to consider, as well as a prediction for which team will come out on top.

Where: Progressive Field in Cleveland

When: Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET

Watch: Fox

Odds and Prop Bets

Cubs Player to Watch: Jake Arrieta

Jon Lester wasn’t his dominant self in Game 1, which adds pressure on Jake Arrieta to regain his Cy Young form in Game 2.

Arrieta won the National League Cy Young Award last season, and although his numbers were great this year (18-8 with a 3.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 190 strikeouts), he faltered a bit down the stretch.

The 30-year-old veteran went just 6-4 with a 3.69 ERA during the second half of the regular season, which was solid but far from the form he displayed previously.

His up-and-down nature has carried over into the playoffs, too, as he struggled in his National League Division Series start against the Los Angeles Dodgers by allowing six hits and four earned runs in five innings.

He can’t afford a similar outing in Game 2, especially since history is already working against the Cubs, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

The entire roster is counting on Arrieta to toss a gem Wednesday, and that includes Lester following his shaky performance, per Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Arrieta‘s career postseason ERA of 4.11 may not inspire a ton of confidence, but he does boast a 1.01 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 30.2 innings, which suggests some bad luck has been involved.

Despite his playoff inconsistencies, Arrieta seems ready to take the ball in the biggest game of the season to this point, according to Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune.

“It’s why you play the whole season to be in this position,” the pitcher said. “It means a ton.”

A 1-0 deficit is already difficult to come back from, so the Cubs can’t afford to drop Game 2 as well.

Chicago’s bats will have to contribute to make that happen, but if Arrieta gives the Cubs length and quality, that will go a long way toward leveling the series.

Indians Player to Watch: Trevor Bauer

After being forced to exit his American League Championship Series start against the Toronto Blue Jays after just 0.2 innings due to a bleeding cut on his pinkie suffered while working on a drone, Trevor Bauer will take the mound for the Tribe.

While Bauer’s hand was a bloody mess against the Jays, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that the injury appears to have improved:

In addition to that, Bauer insisted he feels good and ready to compete on the biggest stage in baseball, according to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune.

“I feel confident every time I take the mound,” he said. “I wouldn’t take the mound if I didn’t feel I’d be able to pitch and help the team.”

Although the Indians are up 1-0, Bauer is facing a ton of pressure to go deep in the game due to Cleveland’s bullpen situation.

Miller threw 46 pitches Tuesday, so one can only assume that manager Terry Francona would rather not have to turn to him again.

Closer Cody Allen could potentially be available for multiple innings, but that would still require a long outing for Bauer or strong performances from some of Cleveland’s less heralded relievers.

Bauer went just 4.2 innings and allowed six hits, three earned runs and two home runs in the division series against the Boston Red Sox, which won’t cut it in Game 2.

The Cubs are a sleeping giant offensively with big bats such as Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber waiting to break out.

If Bauer can last against that lineup, it will go a long way toward ending Cleveland’s World Series championship drought.

Game 2 Prediction

Although Game 2 isn’t a must-win situation for the Cubs in a technical sense, the uphill climb toward winning the World Series would be steep if they fall behind 2-0.

Chicago has a deep enough starting rotation and lineup to overcome any deficit; however, talk of curses and “the same old Cubs” is bound to pop up if they are unable to tie the series in Game 2.

The pitching matchup appears to favor the Cubs despite Arrieta‘s hit-and-miss form as of late, especially since Bauer was poor down the stretch and has yet to turn in a strong playoff start.

Chicago also has too much hitting talent to stay down for long, while Cleveland isn’t going to get two home runs from catcher Roberto Perez every game like it did in Game 1.

The Cubs are better built to deliver consistent offensive performances, and their starter has a better chance to go deep in the game Wednesday.

The biggest key is the possibility that Miller may not even be available for the Indians, so if Chicago can knock Bauer out fairly early, that will put Cleveland at a disadvantage.

With the stakes at their highest so far this season, the Cubs will come through and deliver a victory in Game 2 to even up the series as it heads back to the Windy City.

Game 2 Prediction: Cubs 5, Indians 1

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The Chicago Cubs played like they had not been in a World Series since 1945 as they fell to the Cleveland Indians 6-0 in Game 1 Tuesday.

But despite that loss, the Cubs remain slight favorites to win the series at most sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark and are listed as -155 chalk (bet $155 to win $100) to take Game 2 Wednesday.

Chicago will turn to 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta (0-1, 4.91 ERA in two starts this postseason) in an effort to even the series before heading to Wrigley Field for three games over the weekend.

The two outings for Arrieta (game log) in the playoffs both took place on the road and resulted in losses, but he went 11-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 15 regular-season starts away from home as opponents hit just .203 against him.

Cleveland will be hard-pressed to duplicate ace Corey Kluber’s performance in Game 1 after he set a World Series record by striking out eight batters in the first three innings.

Trevor Bauer will head to the mound next and hopes to last longer than his latest outing, which totaled less than an inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS because stitches came loose on his pinky finger that was injured in an incident with a drone.

Bauer (game log) went 6-4 with a 4.73 ERA at Progressive Field during the regular season.

If Bauer cannot stay in the game again, the Indians have a solid option out of the bullpen in former starter Danny Salazar, who could throw up to 70 pitches after coming back from a forearm injury and being added to the postseason roster. Like designated hitter Kyle Schwarber for the Cubs, Salazar could be an X-factor in this series.

Schwarber had a fairly impressive Game 1 in his return from a gruesome knee injury that had sidelined him since the first week of the season, hitting a double with a walk and two strikeouts.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona improved to 9-0 in World Series games with the victory following two sweeps with the Boston Red Sox. Another betting trend in the Tribe’s favor is that the Game 1 winner has gone on to win the World Series 17 of the previous 19 years, including six straight.

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Jake Arrieta, line one is for you. It’s destiny calling—and it’s urgent.

Don’t worry. We’re not going to get too melodramatic after the Chicago Cubs‘ dispiriting 6-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the World Series at Progressive Field on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s Game 2, which will begin an hour early at 7:08 p.m. ET on Fox because of the threat of rain, isn’t a must-win for Chicago.

It’s a best-of-seven series; the math is simple.

It is, however, a really-should-win, as well as an opportunity for Arrieta to overcome his checkered postseason past.

Overall, Arrieta owns a 4.11 ERA in 30.2 career playoff innings. That screams mediocrity, but the story is far more complex.

All of Arrieta’s postseason appearances have come over the past two seasons with Chicago. In the 2015 National League Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he twirled nine shutout innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts.

That same year, Arrieta won the NL Cy Young Award with a 1.77 ERA and 236 strikeouts in 229 innings. Still, he wobbled in his next two postseason starts.

He surrendered four earned runs in 5.2 innings in Game 3 of the division series against the St. Louis Cardinals, which the Cubs ultimately won 8-6. Then he gave up four earned runs in five innings in a Game 2 loss in the National League Championship Series to the New York Mets.

The Cubs were swept in that series. As for Arrieta, the sample-size explanation jibed at the time.

Arrieta, however, slumped in the second half of 2016 and particularly in September and October, when he allowed 27 hits, 11 walks and 15 earned runs in 29.1 innings.

That fecklessness leaked into the playoffs. He yielded 12 hits and six earned runs in his starts in Game 3 of the division series versus the San Francisco Giants and Game 3 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, both Cubs losses.

Chicago maintained its momentum and nailed down the franchise’s first pennant since 1945 thanks to an offense that leads all postseason qualifiers with 48 runs scored and a pitching staff that has gotten superlative performances from the likes of Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks. 

Lester went unbeaten in the Cubs’ series against San Francisco and Los Angeles, rekindling the October magic that defined his stint with the Boston Red Sox, but he took the loss in Game 1 of the World Series.

Hendricks, meanwhile, mustered a sparkling performance in the clinching Game 6 against the Dodgers on Saturday, facing the minimum number of hitters through 7.1 shutout innings.

Skipper Joe Maddon and the Cubs brain trust, however, opted to push Hendricks back to Game 3 of the World Series, likely to afford him extra rest and exploit the 1.32 ERA he posted at Wrigley this season.

With veteran John Lackey locked in for Game 4, that leaves Arrieta on the hill for Game 2. Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi suggested the Cubs’ rotation was set up “nicely.”

It’s hyperbole to say Arrieta is all that stands between Chicago and a 2-0 series deficit. Indians relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, however, demonstrated again Tuesday that an early Tribe lead is nearly insurmountable.

Cleveland ace Corey Kluber threw six shutout innings and made strikeout history, so dish credit in his direction.

Miller and Allen, though, recorded the final nine outs, six via strikeout. They’ve now combined for 22.1 scoreless playoff frames in 2016 with 39 whiffs.

Arrieta’s directive is to tamp down early offense. He needs to keep Cleveland off the board and give the Cubs a chance to draw first blood, neutralizing the threat of the Miller/Allen two-headed demon.

Arrieta posted a 3.59 ERA on the road this season compared to a 2.62 mark at home. So Maddon isn’t exactly playing the splits.

Instead, it’s time for the 30-year-old right-hander to conjure the guy who won the Senior Circuit’s highest pitching honor a season ago and authored two of MLB‘s last three no-hitters.

“It’s why you play the whole season,” Arrieta said, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune. “To be in this position.”

Arrieta’s drop-off wasn’t the result of some cataclysmic event. He sported a 1.56 ERA at the end of May. Overall, however, his command fizzled, as he issued 76 walks in the regular season compared to 48 in 2015.

“It’s hard to repeat what he did last year,” Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said, per USA Today‘s Josh Peter. “He hasn’t pitched as well, but the stuff is still there.”

The point is, he’s not broken. He’s merely on the fritz. This is the time of year when unlikely heroes rise and stars wake from their slumber.

Locked and loaded as they were in Game 1, Indians hitters own a .219 postseason average. That number drops to .209 against righties.

“I would say the only problem Jake Arrieta has is excellent levels,” super-agent Scott Boras said of his client Oct. 18, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. “It’s the old story. Most people have a penthouse. He happens to have two or three floors. That’s where Jake is. Any one of the floors, we’re fine with.”

The Cubs would be fine with a quality outing and a chance to hand it off to their own pen, including flamethrower Aroldis Chapman.

Arrieta’s counterpart in Game 2, right-hander Trevor Bauer, is no sure bet as he recovers from a freak drone injury. 

Arrieta has every opportunity to be the better starter. He has a shot at high-profile redemption and an automatic pass to the annals of Cubbies lore.

Destiny is calling. Now, we need an answer.

All statistics current as of Tuesday and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. 

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After the Cleveland Indians took a 1-0 World Series lead with a 6-0 Game 1 victory, the Chicago Cubs will now try to even things up in Game 2.

Corey Kluber was outstanding to start things off for Cleveland, racking up nine strikeouts in six shutout innings before the bullpen finished off the shutout. Roberto Perez was also key, hitting two home runs with four RBI from the No. 9 hole in the lineup.

This is just one game in a best-of-seven series, but the pressure is now on the Cubs to bounce back and avoid falling into too deep of a hole before returning home.

World Series Game 2

When: Wednesday, Oct. 26

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio

TV: Fox

Live Stream: FoxSportsGo

Preview

Chicago’s offense was a big disappointment in Game 1. Ben Zobrist did his job going 3-for-4 on the day, but the rest of the team ended up just 4-for-30 (.133 batting average).

Perhaps the most notable statistic was the 1-for-11 mark with runners in scoring position.

We have seen this lineup turn things around in a hurry, especially with elite hitters like Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, but the series isn’t off to a great start. On the plus side, the hardest part might be over for the time being.

Matt Spiegel of 670 The Score discussed the necessary strategy:

The Indians are planning on turning to Trevor Bauer in Game 2, although a lot rests on the right-hander’s pinkie.

Bauer’s last start came in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, but he was taken out after facing four batters when his finger started bleeding all over the mound. The pitcher had injured himself fixing a drone earlier in the week and his stitches opened up when he started pitching.

He remains confident going into his next start, however, much to the excitement of manager Terry Francona, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com:

While Francona was unsure about whether Bauer or Josh Tomlin would start Game 2, he made up his mind Tuesday, according to Mike and Mike.

The Cubs might have more confidence with their starting pitcher as Jake Arrieta takes the mound. The 2015 Cy Young Award winner wasn’t great in his last outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers (four earned runs allowed in five innings), but he had a 3.10 ERA during the regular season with a .194 opponent batting average.

Although he hasn’t been as consistent lately, the 30-year-old starter has good enough stuff to give Cleveland’s offense trouble all game long. Even red-hot hitters like Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez can be slowed down by the talented starter.

While the Indians have the usual advantage in the bullpen, this might not be the case Wednesday after Andrew Miller was forced to throw 46 pitches across two innings in Game 1. According to Jayson Stark of ESPN.com, he hasn’t thrown this much in relief since 2011.

It’s difficult to imagine the lefty getting back onto the mound just one day after such a workload.

Cleveland has other capable relievers, but anyone who isn’t Miller is a relative drop-off considering what he has done this postseason (zero runs in 13.2 innings).

Look for Chicago’s hitters to bounce back while Arrieta does enough to help the Cubs pull even in the series. 

Prediction: Cubs 6, Indians 2

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The Cleveland Indians were able to take an early series lead with a 6-0 win in Game 1 of the 2016 World Series, and the Chicago Cubs will look to avoid a difficult two-game hole on Wednesday in Game 2.

The Indians used a quick start and some dominant pitching to earn the comfortable victory, as a two-run first inning was all the team needed. Wednesday’s contest will also be moved up early due to rain concerns later in the night, per MLB.

Let us take a look at the television and live-stream schedules, the latest odds and some comments from both teams ahead of Game 2.

Jake Arrieta is set to take the hill in Game 2, as he tries to rediscover the dominant form that had him penciled in as the Cy Young favorite at the beginning of the season.

Arrieta was 9-0 with an ERA under 2.00 through May, but he has faltered slightly ever since. The 30-year-old went 9-8 for the rest of the season, but he still finished with a solid 3.10 ERA. 

That slide has continued a bit in these playoffs, where Arrieta has two starts for an 0-1 record and a 4.91 ERA in just 11 innings. The Cubs need their star pitcher to turn it around on Wednesday, but they also need some offense and a strong arm behind the plate. As a result, Chicago manager Joe Maddon is contemplating whether to play Arrieta‘s preferred catcher, Miguel Montero, or the more skilled Willson Contreras.

“The facts are the facts,” Maddon said, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune. “They run, and Willson is one of the best young throwers in the game. You have to balance out how comfortable you think Jake’s going to be throwing to him versus Miggy.”

Of Chicago’s three catchers, including David Ross, Contreras led the team by throwing out just over 37 percent of runners attempting to steal, while Montero threw out just under 11 percent and Ross posted roughly a 27 percent success rate. The Indians were fourth in the majors with 134 stolen bases in the regular season, but they have just four in nine games in these playoffs.

Of the two under consideration to start Game 2, Contreras has been far better offensively, hitting .282 in the regular season and .409 in the postseason compared to the .216 and .111 respective marks from Montero.

Adding a surprise bat into the World Series lineup in Kyle Schwarber could also get Arrieta some needed run support. The pitcher is certainly confident, as was relayed by ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers before Game 1:

Chicago president Theo Epstein also expressed assurance in the young Schwarber, praising the 23-year-old’s rigorous rehabilitation from an early-season knee injury, per the Chicago Tribune‘s Paul Sullivan.

“He did unbelievable job as a rehabbing player, and we weren’t going to take the opportunity away from him,” Epstein said. “He’s also a special talent and a special kid, and if anyone can contribute in a World Series environment after only four or five days of live pitching, it’s probably him.”

Schwarber did not show much rust on Tuesday, going 1-for-3 with a double and a crucial walk off Andrew Miller in the seventh inning to help load the bases.

On the other side, Trevor Bauer will start for the first time since his first-inning exit against the Toronto Blue Jays on Oct. 17. Yet, he does not anticipate his lacerated finger to cause problems again, per ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick:

Bauer will have a tough act to follow, as Corey Kluber was sensational in Game 1, going six innings, allowing no runs and four hits, and setting a franchise record with nine strikeouts in a World Series game, per SportsCenter.

As ESPN.com’s Andrew Marchand reported before Game 1, Cleveland manager Terry Francona is hoping he can get quality outings from his first three starters, which also includes Josh Tomlin. This would allow Kluber the opportunity for a possible Game 7 start, but Francona needs his other starters to help.

“It’s not just one guy can handle it and maybe come back early,” Francona said, per Marchand. “Because once you do that, then the other guys pretty much have to, too, [or] you’re really not helping yourself.”

While Kluber and the Cleveland bullpen were the catalysts for the win, the team did score six runs behind a breakout performance from catcher Roberto Perez. He went 2-for-4 on Tuesday, including two historic home runs, per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale:

Perez’s teammates took notice of Perez’s play, as Miller noted that the mostly unproven player deserves his current playing time, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

“He should be a star catcher,” Miller said. “He’s going in that direction. He’s that good behind the plate defensively.”

Francisco Lindor, who also had a big night by going 3-for-4 with a walk, said that despite Perez’s abysmal .183 average this season, the catcher had the potential for this type of outing, per Rosenthal.

“Remember, he went a long time without playing,” Lindor said. “He just needed time. If you take away the first 70 to 100 at-bats, he had a good offensive year.”

Still, even with the 15 total strikeouts and shaky pitching in Game 1, Ross believes the Cubs can build from this loss and improve against Cleveland’s top guys as the series progresses, per MLB.com‘s Jordan Bastian and Carrie Muskat.

“We knew [the Indians’ formula] going in,” Ross said about facing Kluber, Miller and Cody Allen, “but I think the moral of the story is we got to see those guys on Day 1. Hopefully, that will pay off later.” 

Chicago better hope it can bounce back, as its streaky postseason offense once again did the team in. With some uncertainty around how well Arrieta will pitch and which Cubs lineup will appear, it looks like it could be a tough Game 2 for the visitors.

Chicago did show that it can improve against aces when seeing them again, as it solved Clayton Kershaw to clinch the NLCS from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yet, the series could be spinning out of control for the Cubs by the time Kluber returns to the mound for Game 4.

Statistics are courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted. Game 2 odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

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The Cleveland Indians took their first step toward winning a World Series title Tuesday with a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 and can seize a commanding 2-0 lead with another home win Wednesday.

The tandem of Corey Kluber, Roberto Perez and Andrew Miller was far too much for Chicago in Game 1.

Kluber outdueled Jon Lester with six-plus shutout innings. He allowed just four hits and struck out nine Cubs hitters, and he became the first pitcher in MLB history to notch eight punchouts through three innings in a World Series game, per Sports Illustrated.

Miller pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth and danced out of trouble in each, while Perez connected with two home runs for four RBI even though he hit only three long balls all season.

Attention now moves to Game 2 on Wednesday, which will air on Fox. According to Tom Withers of the Associated Press, it will start at 7:08 p.m. ET instead of 8:08 p.m. because of the possibility of late rain in the forecast.

Game 2 Preview and Prediction

The Cubs will turn toward Jake Arrieta on Wednesday with the hopes of tying the series.

It is a testament to the strength of their starting rotation that Arrieta is the No. 3 starter at this point even though he won the National League Cy Young Award last year. He will pitch Wednesday because Kyle Hendricks just threw a gem in Saturday’s Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Arrieta was a machine last year with a 1.77 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 236 strikeouts but saw a decline in his production in 2016. He still posted a solid 3.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 190 strikeouts and even had a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in April.

Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times underscored how much pressure will be on the right-hander when he takes the hill:

That same pressure will be there for Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer.

According to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, Indians manager Terry Francona said Bauer will start Game 2 even though he pitched a mere 0.2 innings in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. He had to leave the game against the Toronto Blue Jays because a laceration on the pinkie finger of his pitching hand was bleeding all over his uniform and the ball.

He is not exactly a lights-out pitcher even when fully healthy and finished the 2016 campaign with a 4.26 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. What’s more, his 168 strikeouts were a drop-off from last year’s 170 even though he pitched 14 more innings this season.

Cleveland will need to rely on its bullpen if Bauer struggles, and Miller’s workload from Tuesday’s game could make that a problem. He faced a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh and runners on the corners in the eighth, and he managed to escape each situation without allowing a single run, but he threw 46 high-stress pitches.

That number could limit his availability for Game 2, at least in terms of pitching multiple innings.

Buster Olney of ESPN The Magazine captured why a limited Miller would be a boost for the Cubs:

Chicago’s offense was invisible against Kluber, but this is still a group that scored 10, eight and five runs, respectively, in the last three games of the NLCS. The five runs came off three-time NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.

Sometimes, one of the best pitchers in the league simply has his stuff, and that was the case Tuesday with Kluber. Don’t read too much into Chicago’s offensive struggles in the small, one-game sample size.

Kyle Schwarber wasn’t even there for those offensive outbursts against the Dodgers but proved his mettle Tuesday with a double off the wall and an impressive walk against Miller. He tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee in April but managed to make his way back for the World Series and will provide another lift in Game 2.

That offense will get to Bauer early and then add on in the middle innings against bullpen pitchers who aren’t named Miller.

Arrieta may not be the unhittable force he was in 2015, but he is still one of the most formidable pitchers in the National League when pitching at his best. He will settle in with the early run support and eventually hand the ball to Pedro Strop, Hector Rondon and Aroldis Chapman in the Chicago bullpen.

Lester summarized Chicago’s mindset after the Game 1 loss and harkened back to the 2-1 deficit it faced in the NLCS, per Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago: “Just like L.A.—everybody counted us out after Game 3. They said we were the worst best team in baseball. We’re not giving up.”

The Cubs already overcame one deficit this postseason and will start their journey toward a second comeback Wednesday.

Prediction: Cubs 6, Indians 3

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At the risk of going out on a limb for a team that hasn’t won a World Series in 108 years or even scored in a World Series in 71 years…

Don’t worry. The Chicago Cubs still have this.

Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday did not go as the Cubs planned. They presumably planned on preventing the Cleveland Indians from scoring runs while netting a few of their own against Corey Kluber and friends. Instead, Cleveland won going away, 6-0.

And so, the Cubs are still looking for their first World Series win since beating the Detroit Tigers in Game 6 of the 1945 Fall Classic. They’re also still looking for their first World Series run since the eighth inning of Game 7.

More troubling than that history, though, is the recent history of teams that have lost the first game of the World Series. Take it away, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com:

The latest odds don’t paint as ugly a picture, but they’re still not good. According to FanGraphs, Cleveland now has a 54.1 percent chance of winning its first World Series in 68 years.

But enough of these scary numbers.

Just because the Indians landed the first blow doesn’t mean everything has changed. The Cubs were heavy favorites with a 64.5 percent chance of victory coming into the series. And even if they’re not officially favorites after dropping Game 1, that should change quickly.

There are good reasons the Cubs lost Game 1, including two homers by Roberto Perez and stellar relief pitching by—who else?—Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. But the Cubs also played better than the 6-0 final indicates. Without Perez’s homers, the Indians would have needed a swinging bunt by Jose Ramirez and a Brandon Guyer hit-by-pitch to score runs. Cubs hitters had some good at-bats, especially against Miller in his two innings of work.

“We didn’t play as bad as that looked,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said afterward, via Richard Justice of MLB.com.

The deciding factor in Game 1 was Kluber‘s pitching. The 2014 Cy Young winner pitched like his best self, giving up only four hits and striking out nine in six scoreless frames.

You could have seen this coming. The Cubs are a patient team that specializes in working pitchers. Kluber is a strike-thrower with great stuff. He beat the Cubs the same way Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill temporarily silenced them in the National League Championship Series: by going right at them.

Assuming Mother Nature doesn’t wash the game away, the Cubs will get a nice change of pace against Trevor Bauer in Game 2.

Bauer’s 4.26 ERA this season kept his career ERA safely above 4.00. Recently, his issues with walks (3.5 BB/9) and home runs (1.2 HR/9) came back to haunt him in the second half. He’s just the kind of pitcher the Cubs, No. 1 in the National League in walks and top five in homers, can handle.

And if an offensive barrage doesn’t result in an early shower for Bauer, the finger injury that has already taken him off the mound once this October could do the trick.

Either way, an early exit from Bauer would spell trouble for Cleveland. It would require Francona to get the best out of his bullpen. That basically means the best out of Miller, and he likely won’t be up to it after throwing 46 pitches in Game 1.

As such, the Cubs evening this series could be a matter of them getting quality innings out of Jake Arrieta. That’s an iffier proposal than it was this time a year ago. But he’s still a far safer bet than Bauer and Johnny Wholestaff.

The dominoes will line up nicely if the Cubs do win Game 2. They’ll be heading back to Wrigley Field needing just three more wins, and with the matchups in their favor.

Game 3 will feature Kyle Hendricks against Josh Tomlin. That’s a pitcher with the lowest ERA in baseball (2.13) and an even lower ERA at home (1.32) up against a pitcher who’s good, but who has only one of Kluber‘s qualities. Tomlin is a strike-thrower, but not with overwhelming swing-and-miss stuff.

Game 4 will be John Lackey up against either Kluber on three days’ rest, Ryan Merritt or Danny Salazar, or some combination of Merritt and Salazar. Either way, that game will also favor Chicago.

Kluber was not sharp when he started on short rest in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, surrendering two runs in five innings. Merritt is sort of a left-handed Tomlin. Salazar is like Bauer, except wilder and minus any stamina after being on the disabled list since early September.

If the Cubs force a Game 5, their rotation would be flipped back over again for Jon Lester. He still has a 2.61 ERA even after allowing three earned runs in five and two-thirds innings in Game 1, and even that line overstates how much he struggled.

If the series shifts back to Cleveland for Games 6 and 7, the Cubs could rest easy knowing Kyle Schwarber is back.

Just six months after he suffered a major knee injury, the Cubs appeared to be indulging in wishful thinking when they threw Schwarber into their Game 1 lineup. After taking only a couple of at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, making him face Kluber seemed cruel and/or unusual.

Instead, Schwarber darn near took him deep.

That wasn’t Schwarber‘s only bright moment. He also worked Miller for a walk in the seventh inning, becoming just the second left-handed hitter to draw a walk off the lefty relief ace this season.

“You could see on the finish sometimes maybe the brace grabs him just a little bit. I kind of noticed that,” Maddon said of Schwarber in his postgame presser, via MLB.com. “Otherwise there was no kind of negative atmosphere surrounding his at-bats. I thought they were outstanding, actually.”

Although Schwarber can only DH in games at Progressive Field, that still makes him another weapon in Maddon‘s arsenal for this series. The rest of it, meanwhile, is a reminder of why the Cubs were such heavy favorites coming into the series.

The Cubs didn’t win 103 games this season by accident. They had the best starting rotation. They gained one of the best bullpens in the second half. They had one of the best offenses. They had the best defense.

The Indians are awfully good, but not as deep. That didn’t matter in Game 1 because they mostly beat the Cubs with their best guys. They can’t do that in every game. As this series involves more players, the more it will favor the Cubs.

So, there. Now that I’ve gone and stood up for the Cubs, what could possibly go wrong?

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

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