Tonight, the Chicago Cubs play a World Series game at Wrigley Field.
No matter what happens in the next few hours (or days), nothing can take that away from us.
That said, if the Cubs wanted to loft a few balls into that expected 30 MPH wind tonight, I think we’d all feel a bit better.
That is, of course, because tonight’s Indians’ starter, Josh Tomlin, is both an extreme fly ball pitcher who also happens to carry an extreme home run to fly ball ratio. I took a deeper look into Tomlin’s past, statistics, pitch-mix, and more earlier today, so check out that article for more.
In his two playoff starts, Tomlin seemed to work his curveball in heavily to induce more grounders. We’ll see if he tries that again tonight.
Starting opposite Tomlin is MLB’s ERA leader Kyle Hendricks. Hendricks, you’ll recall, threw an absolute gem in Game 6 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, clinching a World Series berth for the Chicago Cubs less than a week ago. In that start, he allowed just two hits (and no walks) against six strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched. He was brilliant.
If the Cubs can squeak out a win tonight, they’ll have a chance (albeit a difficult one) to clinch the whole thing at home on Sunday. Big game tonight, friends. Have fun, be safe, and enjoy every second of it.
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Game Info
Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs (Series tied 1-1) – 7:00 pm CT on FOX, 670 The Score, ESPN Radio
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun.
The Series Preview lives here. The Lineup Discussion lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (R): 2.13 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 3.59 xFIP; 3.86 K/BB
versus
Indians: Josh Tomlin (R): 4.40 ERA, 4.88 FIP, 4.13 xFIP; 5.90 K/BB
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Cleveland Indians:
- Carlos Santana, LF
- Jason Kipnis, 2B
- Francisco Lindor, SS
- Mike Napoli, 1B
- Jose Ramirez, 3B
- Lonnie Chisenhall, RF
- Roberto Perez, C
- Tyler Naquin, CF
- Josh Tomlin, P
Chicago Cubs Lineup:
- Dexter Fowler, CF
- Kris Bryant, 3B
- Anthony Rizzo, 1B
- Ben Zobrist, LF
- Willson Contreras, C
- Jorge Soler, RF
- Javy Baez, 2B
- Addison Russell, SS
- Kyle Hendricks, P