The Chicago Cubs apparently aren't going out without a fight.
Behind a strong start from Jon Lester and a clutch performance from Aroldis Chapman out of the bullpen, the Cubs stayed alive with a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Indians in Sunday's Game 5.
Lester gave up two runs over six innings, while Chapman threw a career-high 2.2 innings to close it out. The Cubs closer came in with the Indians threatening in the top of the seventh but got out of a jam and showed little signs of struggle despite throwing 42 pitches.
"A pretty gutsy performance there," Kris Bryant told reporters regarding Chapman. "He just went out there and did his thing. That’s the reason right there why we got him."
Bryant himself sparked the Cubs' three-run fourth inning by hitting a solo home run. Addison Russell and David Ross drove in the final two runs for Chicago, which was shut out over the other eight innings.
The Cubs will nonetheless head back to Cleveland with a chance to pull off a historic comeback. Here's a look at a few key stats heading into Game 6.
+190
Those are the current betting odds for the Cubs at Odds Shark. The Indians are -230 to close it out in the next two games at home.
10
The last 10 teams to pull ahead 3-1 in the World Series have gone on to win. While it wouldn't be as unprecedented as a 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals, the odds of a Cubs comeback are slim.
12
The number of teams that have made a comeback from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series, per Dayn Perry of CBSSports.com. Five of those teams have pulled off the feat in the World Series.
1979
That's the last year a team won a World Series after being down 3-1 while playing the final two games on the road. The Pittsburgh Pirates' last championship came in one of those comebacks against the Baltimore Orioles.
Overall, six of 44 teams who faced 3-1 deficits in best-of-seven series have pulled off comebacks with the last two wins coming away from home.
0
The number of times the Indians have given up more than five runs in a game this postseason. The Cubs averaged roughly five runs per game during the regular season and have hit that mark five times already during these playoffs. They scored 23 runs in their final three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers after trailing 2-1 in the NLCS.
2
The number of hits by Bryant in this series. The Cubs aren't pulling off this comeback if Bryant can't find a rhythm. Hitting a homer in Game 5 was a start, but he had a hit in eight of 10 postseason games before the World Series. Bryant is the Cubs' best player and most important bat; he has to return to form for them to have any chance.
3
Hits in eight at-bats for Kyle Schwarber, who will return to the lineup for Games 6 and 7 after being stapled to the bench because he was recovering from knee surgery. Schwarber should return to the designated hitter role he held for the first two games of the series, which saw him drive in a pair of runs in Chicago's Game 2 victory.
The Cubs are arguably at more of an advantage on the road during this series than they are at home given Schwarber's presence.
8
Hits in 19 at-bats for Francisco Lindor, who is Corey Kluber's best competition for series MVP at this point. The Indians shortstop has at least two hits in each of their three wins and just one in their two losses.
51
Strikeouts in 28.2 innings this postseason for Cody Allen and Andrew Miller, the unstoppable back half of the Indians bullpen. Neither has been needed extensively during this series, so they should be fresh going into the final two games.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
- Login to post comments