That's more like it.
SEE ALSO:The Cubs are going to the World Series and Chicago is going nutsAt the end of my recap of Game 1, I said: "I feel pretty good about a bounce-back game. These Cubs are young, resilient, and now they're angry and embarrassed."
If you've followed the Cubs at all this season, particularly in the postseason, this suggestion is hardly novel; fighting back is what they do. And they proved that with an impressive 5-1 win in Game 2 to even the World Series at 1-1.
As for bouncing back from Tuesday night's 6-0 downer, a pal and fellow Cubs fan pointed out before Game 2, the Cubs have found themselves in this exact same position before. A week ago.
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Indeed, that big win, in Game 4 of the NLCS, shook the Cubs loose from an offensive slumber and set the stage for three straight, impressive wins. They even beat an ace (Clayton Kershaw) who had stymied them earlier in the season.
I'm not saying this will all play out exactly the same way in the World Series.
I'm just saying.
There were some eerie similarities to Game 1 on Wednesday night. Tuesday night, it was a two-run first inning that sunk the Cubs. Even Cubs starter Jon Lester admitted as much.
Wednesday night, it was the Cubs who struck first and, even though they only scored one run, it felt like a much bigger deal than just a single run.
Kris Bryant's single and Anthony Rizzo's double to deliver him home had an extra heft: here were two of the team's big sluggers who had terrible performances in Game 1 (a combined 0-for-7) and some rough patches earlier in the postseason, delivering right away in Game 2, setting the tone.
When the big guns are hitting — and there was one in particular we'll get to in a bit — it's good news. The rest of the team followed suit, extending at-bats and raising Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer's pitch count to such heights he had to be pulled in the fourth inning.
And, with Andrew Miller neutralized because of a long outing on Tuesday, the Cubs got to a Cleveland bullpen that, while still good, was a steep drop off from Game 1's hurlers.
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And the Cubs' starting pitcher, 2015 Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, survived a scare in the bottom of the first. Those two walks with two outs gave me flashbacks to Lester's terrible first inning in Game 1 and even that rough eighth inning for Justin Grimm who, with two outs, gave up a three-run homer that iced the game.
But Jake gonna Jake. Getting out of the jam, the Cubs were up only 1-0 but the feeling going into the second inning — the feeling that Jake was on his game and that the offense was making good contact, getting their confidence back after a terrible first game when Corey Kluber dominated them — made the lead feel even bigger.
Speaking of Arrieta: thisguy.
Jake Arrieta did very little wrong and very much right in Game 2.Credit: AP Photo/Matt SlocumI talked above about his first inning and the way he got out of the jam. After that, Arrieta settled down and did terrific work in the same manner he's done the past few seasons. It's almost mechanical, to be honest.
In fact, it wasn't until a few innings later, when Fox showed Cleveland's box score, did I, or my friends watching the game with me, realize Arrieta was throwing a no-hitter in the World Series.
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Cleveland finally got to him in the bottom of the sixth, scraping out a run, and even though Arrieta would leave that same inning, it's hard to find much wrong with his performance. It might not have been like Kluber was in Game 1 but it was vintage 2015 Jake and that's pretty damn great.
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There's always reason to be nervous as a Cubs fan, particularly in these rare postseason appearances, so anything that settles the nerves is a very, very good thing. Tonight, Jake Arrieta was a good thing.
No, wait.
Thisguy.
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Before last night, Game 1 of the World Series, he hadn't played in a major league game since early April, when he injured his knee in the third game of the season. There were so many doubts about his readiness, especially considering this is biggest stage in baseball, that some fans and sportswriters questioned whether he should even be on the roster.
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Well, I'm guessing they've shut up now.
Other than Arrieta, no Cub impressed Wednesday night as much as Schwarber, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two runs driven in.
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Here's the bummer, though: as mentioned on tonight's FOX broadcast, Schwarber has been cleared by team doctors to hit and run the bases, but not play in the field. With the series shifting to Chicago for the next three games, there's no DH spot for him to bat, so it's a question of how to play him.
He could be cleared by doctors and he could easily split time in left field with Zobrist or Soler or Contreras or whoever. This is a versatile team and trust Joe Maddon to find a way to get Schwarber in there, even if it's just as a pinch-hitter.
Either way, he proved any doubters wrong in a big way and it's only to the Cubs' benefit.
Let's see: a big bounce back from the offense, a dominating pitching performance, and the World Series is heading back to Wrigley Field with the Cubs owning home-field advantage?
I'm feeling pretty OK about that.
Sure, Miller will be rested and Kluber is slated to throw Game 4. But the Cubs have shown resiliency. They've faced three of the best pitchers in baseball this postseason — Madison Bumgarner, Clayton Kershaw, and Kluber — and when they got a second chance at one (Kershaw), they lit him up.
After Game 2, I feel like Space JamBill Murray. Overconfident, especially with the task ahead (hey, Cleveland is still a very good baseball team), but knowing the talent is there to get it done.
Via GiphyGame 3 is Friday night in Chicago with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET, televised on FOX.
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