The Cleveland Indians take commanding 3-1 series lead with 7-2 victory

The Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night.  The game took place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois and the final score was 7-2.  John Lackey started for the Cubs and didn't pitch very well and Corey Kluber pitched very well for the Indians.  The Cubs bullpen struggled and the Indians bullpen was pretty good.  Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Anthony Rizzo each had two hits to lead the Cubs and Jason Kipnis had three hits and three RBI to lead the Indians offense. 

Lackey took the loss pitching five innings and giving up four hits and three runs with two of them being earned.  He walked one and struck out five.  Mike Montgomery pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with two walks, Justin Grimm pitched 1/3 of an inning giving up a hit and two runs with a strikeout and Travis Wood pitched an inning giving up two hits and a run with two strikeouts.  Hector Rondon pitched two innings giving up two hits and no runs with a couple of strikeouts. 

Kluber won his second game of the series pitching six innings and giving up five hits and a run.  He walked one and struck out six.  Andrew Miller pitched two innings giving up a hit and a run with two strikeouts and Dan Otero pitched an inning giving up a hit. 

Fowler had two hits and an RBI, Kris Bryant drew a walk and Rizzo had two hits and an RBI.  Addison Russell had a hit, Heyward had two hits and Fowler and Rizzo each hit two doubles.  Fowler hit a homerun and the Cubs were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Rizzo had a stolen base and Bryant committed two errors. 

Kipnis had three hits and three RBI, Francisco Lindor had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Carlos Santana had three hits and an RBI.  Lonnie Chisenhall had an RBI, Roberto Perez drew a walk and Tyler Naquin drew a walk.  Kluber had a hit, Coco Crisp had a hit and Kipnis and Crisp each hit a double.  Santana and Kipnis each hit a homerun and the Indians were 3-8 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. 

In the bottom of the first Rizzo hit an RBI single to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.  In the second Santana hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  Kluber hit an RBI single to make it a 2-1 game.  In the third Lindor hit an RBI single to push the lead to 3-1 and in the sixth Chisenhall hit a sac fly to make it 4-1.  In the sevneth Kipnis hit a three run homerun to extend the lead to 7-1.  In the eighth Fowler hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 7-2 and that would be the final score. 

The Indians took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series with game five on Sunday night and the Indians have a chance to clinch and become World Champions for the first time since 1948.