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Battle of the Bullpens
Let’s look at the body of work for the two teams’ pens in the opener:
Chicago: 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Cleveland: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
If not for a badly-hung breaking ball from Hector Rondon in the eighth, Game 1 may very well have wound up a 3-0 game. That being said, that’s not how things played out and the box score looks a bit more lopsided in Wednesday’s newspapers.
The exploits of Andrew Miller earned him American League Championship Series MVP honors. Terry Francona has done little to hide the fact he plans on riding that left arm to a World Series title, along with a potential three-start series from Kluber.
Next: Why did Contreras apologize?
The Cubs will have to capitalize on clutch opportunities moving forward to shift the momentum back in their favor before the series returns to the Confines this weekend. The positive news was two hits and a pair of walks against Miller Tuesday night – but despite loading the bases with nobody out late – Chicago came up empty yet again.