The Chicago Cubs are World Champions after thrilling Game 7 victory

The Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night.  The game took place at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio and the final score was 8-7.  Kyle Hendricks started for the Cubs and pitched very well, the bullpen was shaky.  Corey Kluber started for the Indians and didn't pitch that well and their bullpen also struggled.  Dexter Fowler had a big game for the Cubs and Ben Zobrist was the MVP.  Rajai Davis hit a big two run homerun for the Indians. 

Hendricks pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  He walked one and struck out two.  Jon Lester pitched three innings giving up three hits and two runs with one of them being earned.  He walked one and struck out four, Aroldis Chapman blew the save but earned the win pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up three hits and two runs.  He walked none and struck out two, Carl Edwards Jr. pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit and a run with a walk and Mike Montgomery retired the only batter that he faced to record the save. 

Kluber pitched four innings giving up six hits and four runs.  Andrew Miller pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up four hits and two runs with a walk and a strikeout, Cody Allen pitched two innings giving up a walk and he struck out two and Bryan Shaw lost the game pitching an inning and giving up three hits and two runs with two walks and a strikeout.  Trevor Bauer pitched 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout. 

Fowler had three hits and an RBI, Kyle Schwarber had three hits and Kris Bryant had a hit and drew a walk.  Anthony Rizzo had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Zobrist had a hit and an RBI and Addison Russell had an RBI and drew a walk.  Willson Contreras had a hit and an RBI, David Ross had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk and Miguel Montero had a hit and an RBI.  Javier Baez had a hit and an RBI, Contreras and Zobrist each hit a double.  Fowler, Baez and Ross each hit a homerun and the Cubs were 3-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Schwarber and Heyward each had a stolen base and Fowler was caught stealing.  Baez and Ross each committed an error.  Hendricks had a pickoff. 

Carlos Santana had a hit, an RBI and drew a walk, Jeff Kipnis had a hit and Jose Ramirez had two hits.  Lonnie Chisenhall had a hit, Brandon Guyer had two hits, an RBI and drew a walk and Davis had two hits and three RBI.  Coco Crisp had two hits, Roberto Perez drew a walk and Crisp and Guyer each hit a double.  Davis hit a homerun and the Indians were 3-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Ramirez was picked off and Gomes committed an error. 

In the first Fowler led off the game with a solo homerun to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.  In the third Santana hit an RBI single to tie the game at one.  In the fourth Russell hit a sac fly to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead.  Contreras hit an RBI double to push the lead to 3-1.  In the fifth Baez hit a solo homerun and Rizzo hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1.  In the fifth the Indians scored two runs on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 5-3.  Ross hit a solo homerun in the sixth to push the lead back to three at 6-3.  In the eighth Guyer hit an RBI double to cut the lead to 6-4 and Davis hit a two run homerun to tie the game at six.  In the tenth Zobrist hit an RBI double and Montero hit an RBI single to give the Cubs back the lead at 8-6 and Davis hit an RBI single in the bottom of the tenth to cut the lead to 8-7 but that would be how it ended. 

After 108 years the drought is finally over.  The Chicago Cubs are World Champions as they went wire to wire this year.  They were the best team all year and were able to outlast the Indians in this game and series as they fought back from a 3-1 deficit.  These players and coaches, executives etc will never be forgotten in Chicago.  They are the people that finally ended the jinx.  It was an amazing game, series and scene after the final out.  This was a great way to end the 2016 season. 

The New York Yankees offense doesn't show up again in 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.  The game took place at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Chris Capuano started and pitched well for the Yankees and the bullpen was good but gave up a walk-off hit.  The offense did nothing as usual. 

Capuano pitched six innings giving up no runs and two hits.  He walked four and struck out four.  Adam Warren pitched two perfect innings with a strikeout and Shawn Kelley pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up three hits and a run with a walk and a strikeout.  Kelley took his sixth loss of the season. 

Alex Colome pitched 6 2/3 innings giving up six hits and no runs.  He walked one and struck out four.  Steve Geltz pitched to one batter and retired him, Jeff Beliveau pitched 2/3 of an inning giving up a strikeout and Kirby Yates pitched to one batter and retired him.  Joel Peralta pitched an inning giving up a walk and striking out one and won his third game of the season. 

Martin Prado had two hits, Mark Teixeira had a hit and drew a walk and Carlos Beltran had a hit.  Ichiro Suzuki had a hit, John Ryan Murphy drew a walk and Brendan Ryan had a hit.  Suzuki hit a double and the Yankees were 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Gardner committed an error. 

Ben Zobrist had two hits and an RBI, Brandon Guyer had a hit and drew a walk and Evan Longoria drew a walk.  Wil Myers drew a walk, Logan Forsythe had a hit and James Loney had a hit.  Casali drew a walk, Matt Joyce drew a walk and the Rays were 1-7 with runners in scoring position and left ten men on base. 

The only run of the game was scored in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI walk-off single by Zobrist.  The two teams will play game two of three on Tuesday night.   

The New York Yankees offense is silent as they lose game and series to the Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees were defeated by the score of 3-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays.  The game took place

on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Andy Pettitte started for the Yankees

and he pitched well but their offense didn't do anything. 

Pettitte pitched six innings giving up three runs and only two were earned.  He gave up seven hits, walking

one batter and striking out ten.  Pettitte took his first loss of the season.  Shawn Kelley pitched two innings

giving up a hit and a walk with three strikeouts. 

Brett Gardner had a hit, Ichiro Suzuki had a hit and Travis Hafner drew a walk.  Eduardo Nunez had a hit,

Jayson Nix had a hit and the Yankees were 0-3 with runners in scoring position and they left four men on

base.  Boesch committed an error. 

Alex Cobb earned his third win of the season pitching 8 1/3 innings giving up no runs on three hits with a

walk.  Cobb struck out seven batters.  Fernando Rodney earned his third save of the season pitching 2/3 of

an inning giving up a hit. 

Desmond Jennings had a hit, Ben Zobrist had two hits and two RBI and Sean Rodriguez had two hits and

an RBI.  James Loney drew a walk, Yunel Escobar had a hit and Sam Fuld had a hit.  Shelly Duncan drew

a walk, Kelly Johnson had a hit and Zobrist hit a double.  Rodriguez hit a homerun and the Rays were 1-7

with runners in scoring position and they left eight men on base. 

Zobrist hit a two run doublen the fifth giving the Rays a 2-0 lead.  In the sixth Rodriguez hit a solo homerun

to extend the lead to 3-0 and that would be the final score.  The Rays took two out of three in the series

and the Yankees record dropped to 11-9.  The Rays record improved to 10-11.  The Yankees head home

to begin a four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday night.