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Photos: Kluber Cruises As Indians Take Game 1 Of World Series, 6-0, But Cubs Need Not Panic

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 26, 2016 3:54AM

The Cubs made their impossibly buzzed-about return to the World Series on Tuesday night; but thanks to a sterling performance from Cleveland Indians starter Corey Kluber, it was a beginning the North Siders will be happy to leave to history.

Kluber, the likely AL Cy Young winner, was in full control of his absolutely criminal breaking ball as he struck out a whopping nine Cubs batters through six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, en route to a decisive 6-0 Cleveland win. Cubs starter Jon Lester was effective at turns (although he received few favors from umpire Larry Vanover). But the Indians’ three-run first inning—supplemented by Roberto Perez's solo shot in the fourth and his three-run blast in the eighth—all proved more than plenty as the Indians showcased intimidating offense.

It looked like the Cubs might claw their way back in the seventh, when they loaded the bases with nobody out, and again in the eighth, when comeback kid Kyle Schwarber represented the tying run at the plate. But the Indians’ fearsome fireman Andrew Miller, well, put out the fires, drawing a flyout then two swinging Ks in the seventh and striking out Schwarber in the eighth to end the inning.

The loss was a tough way to open the Cubs’ return to the Fall Classic, but it should hardly be taken as cause for alarm. Chicago is favored in five of the next six games; and the last time we saw the Cubs offense stifled by opposition’s starting pitching—in back-to-back-shutout losses against LA in the NLCS—they responded by putting up 23 runs across three consecutive wins. Plus Chicago was able to extend Miller's pitch count all the way to 46, which should bode well for Game Two.

But however well positioned Chicago may be for the immediate future, Tuesday night did not go down easy.