The Chicago Cubs tied the World Series at one game apiece with a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 2 on Wednesday, which means it is now a best-of-five battle to see who emerges as champions.
Jake Arrieta took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of Wednesday's contest, and the bullpen duo of Mike Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman finished the deal with 3.1 scoreless innings. Ben Zobrist, Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell all tallied RBI, while Kyle Schwarber posted two hits, two RBI and a run scored as part of his incredible comeback story.
He tore his ACL and LCL in April and had a grand total of four at-bats this season, but he worked his way back for the World Series and notched three hits in the first two games.
Chicago has momentum on its side after Game 2, but that only goes as far as the next game's pitcher in baseball. With that in mind, here is a look at some odds heading into Friday's Game 3, as well as some statistical projections for key players.
World Series Odds
The Game 3 moneyline consensus can be found here, and the odds to win the World Series can be found here, each according to Odds Shark.
It must be noted these were the listed odds as of Thursday morning at 1 a.m. ET, and the odds to win the World Series were last updated before Chicago's win on Wednesday.
Game 3 Stat Projections for Key Players
Pitchers
Kyle Hendricks will be the dominant storyline of Game 3.
While Jon Lester and Arrieta are two household names on the Chicago pitching staff, Hendricks is a Cy Young Award candidate after pitching a career-high 190 innings and posting a 2.13 ERA and sparkling 0.98 WHIP this season.
He already proved himself on the pressure-packed October stage in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He faced three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw with the raucous crowd at Wrigley Field set to explode with the chance to send the Cubs to their first World Series since 1945.
He delivered 7.1 innings of scoreless work with a mere two hits allowed.
It is no surprise he dictated the game at Wrigley Field considering he was lights-out at home this season. According to ESPN.com, he finished with a 1.32 ERA and .201 batting average against in 95.1 innings in front of the Chicago faithful in 2016.
He will also be motivated to pitch in front of those fans on Friday, per MLB:
The Cubs will earn the win and a 2-1 series lead after Montgomery and Pedro Strop finish the eighth and Chapman earns the save.
On the other side, Josh Tomlin didn't have the head-turning stats Hendricks did this season, with a 4.40 ERA and 1.19 WHIP, but he has been much more effective in the postseason. He allowed just three earned runs in 10.2 innings of work, which is good for a 2.53 ERA.
However, he will revert back to numbers resembling his regular-season marks on Friday, with four earned runs allowed in five innings. Outside of Game 1 of the World Series, when Corey Kluber was simply unhittable, the Cubs offense has been rolling as of late. It tallied 28 combined runs in Games 4, 5 and 6 of the NLCS and Game 2 of the Fall Classic and will get to Tomlin early.
Andrew Miller and Cody Allen will keep Cleveland within striking distance from the bullpen, but it will be too little, too late.
Marquee Hitters
Kris Bryant drilled 39 home runs during the regular season as the potential National League MVP, but he has just one long ball in the postseason. That will change on Friday, when he tags Tomlin for a two-run blast.
Elsewhere for Chicago, Russell proved in this postseason he can deliver after struggling. He had only one hit through his first seven playoff games but then went 6-for-13 with two home runs, five runs and four RBI in the final three contests of the NLCS.
He started slow in the World Series at 1-for-8, but he will deliver some home cooking on Friday with a couple of hits.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports underscored just how quickly the 22-year-old shortstop is capable of turning things around:
Mike Napoli will lead the offensive charge for the Indians with a home run off Hendricks after connecting with 34 during the regular season, but the Cubs starter will limit the damage by scattering a couple of hits from Francisco Lindor and containing the rest of the lineup.
The Cubs will take another step toward earning their first World Series title since 1908.
Prediction: Cubs 4, Indians 1
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