Chicago’s Jake Arrieta was almost unhittable and the middle of the Cubs lineup delivered at the plate in their 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday.
Dazzling Cy Young winner Arrieta used his repertoire of fastballs, cutters, sinkers and sliders to baffle the Indians as he threw 5-1/3 innings of no-hit ball before Jason Kipnis doubled with one out in the sixth.
While Cubs manager Joe Maddon hailed his “great stuff,” Arrieta said he had focused on throwing with less effort.
Photo: Gene Puskar, USA TODAY
“I wanted to come out and pitch my game. I tried not to pitch with over-effort, trying to take my foot off the gas a little bit and throw some quality breaking stuff,” Arrieta said. “I was able to spin the ball in the zone, and in and out of the zone well and keep them off balance with the sinker pretty much all night.”
Arrieta and relievers Mike Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman combined on a four-hitter on a chilly night on the shores of Lake Erie to ensure the Cubs headed back to Chicago for the next three games with the series all square.
Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber combined for five hits, four runs scored and four runs batted in after the hard-hitting Cubs were blanked 6-0 in Game 1 in Cleveland.
In contrast to the overpowering pitching from the Cubs, Cleveland used six relievers after removing starter Trevor Bauer in the fourth. The seven Indians pitchers issued a combined nine hits and eight walks with the normally reliable second baseman Kipnis making two errors.
“There was traffic all night,” Indians manager Terry Francona said of all the baserunners for the Cubs. “For us to win, we generally need to play a clean game and we didn’t do that.”
After being shut out in the opener, the Cubs scored their first run of the World Series in the first inning.
Kris Bryant, who before the game received the National League Hank Aaron Award as most outstanding offensive player, stroked a one-out single and dashed around the bases to score when Anthony Rizzo followed with a double to right.
With the Fall Classic shifting to Wrigley Field, the Cubs are scheduled to host their first World Series game in 71 years with Kyle Hendricks taking the mound against Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin later today.
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