NOTE: In case you haven’t heard yet, Game Two’s start time was moved up to 7 p.m. from 8 p.m. due to the threat of rain growing greater as the night goes on.
Ok, Cleveland fans. Everyone take a deep breath. Now exhale. Good.
The adrenaline rush of World Series Game One is behind us, and our Tribe came out on the other side with a decisive 6-0 victory. Winning Game One is important, and the Boys of Autumn got the job done, just as they have in 8 of the 9 playoff games so far. Across the plaza, the Cavs also notched a decisive win in Game One of their season after slipping their 2016 championship rings securely into place.
On Wednesday night, The Land’s attention turns from the ring finger to the pinky – Trevor Bauer’s pinky, to be specific. Bauer gets the ball and goes for another W in Game Two. Is his little finger healed enough from the freak drone accident (I’m not saying who the freak is here) to not split open and drip, drip, drip all over the mound again? And if Bauer can stay in the game beyond two batters this time, will he be up to the task of taming a dangerous Cubs line-up?
Bauer’s opponent is none other than Jake Arrieta, the NL Cy Young winner in 2015. Last year and a good chunk of this season, Arrieta seemed practically untouchable. In 2015, he definitely deserved the Cy Young, chalking up 22 wins and a microscopic ERA of 1.77. However, when the Tribe faced Arietta in his banner year, they got to him for 4 runs in 5 innings.
But that was then. As we all know, this year’s Tribe is even better. And Arrieta has looked more human, especially of late. While he went a very respectable 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA for the regular season, he was less domineering down the stretch. And he has already given up 6 earned runs in 11 innings during the post-season, for a 4.91 ERA.
If Bauer can hold his own against Arrieta for at least 4 or 5 innings, the Tribe’s tenacious bullpen can be even more effective. With Thursday scheduled as a travel day, the masterful Terry Francona has more options of how to play his bullpen cards, even if Bauer gets in trouble early.
Here are Wednesday’s starting line-ups:
| Cubs | Indians | ||
|
CF
|
Dexter Fowler |
DH
|
Carlos Santana |
|
3B
|
Kris Bryant |
2B
|
Jason Kipnis |
|
1B
|
Anthony Rizzo |
SS
|
Francisco Lindor |
|
LF
|
Ben Zobrist |
1B
|
Mike Napoli |
|
DH
|
Kyle Schwarber |
3B
|
Jose Ramirez |
|
2B
|
Javier Baez |
RF
|
Lonnie Chisenhall |
|
C
|
Willson Contreras |
LF
|
Coco Crisp |
|
RF
|
Jorge Soler |
CF
|
Tyler Naquin |
|
SS
|
Addison Russell |
C
|
Roberto Perez |
|
SP
|
Jake Arrieta |
SP
|
Trevor Bauer |