Chicago Cubs: Last night’s loss hurts but there’s plenty of time left

The Chicago Cubs appeared in their first World Series game since 1945 and didn’t look comfortable. Cleveland ace Corey Kluber manhandled this lineup, recording a handful of strikeouts. One small victory that’s worth noting is making Andrew Miller work.

Which is about the only good thing that happened in last night’s loss. Yet while Jon Lester looked to be settling in, he was doing so with a two-run deficit and gave up a solo homer. Chicago Cubs fans across the globe expressed their frustrations.

But what you need to remember is that this is a best-of-seven series. Just because the Cubs dropped Game 1 of the World Series doesn’t mean they are eliminated. However, if they have any hopes of returning to Wrigley Field with the series tied at one, things need to change.

Before we get into that, it was great seeing Kyle Schwarber in the lineup. Schwarber returned to the Cubs six months after tearing two ligaments in his knee.

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Despite having a bit of a base running hiccup while standing at second with the bases loaded, Kyle looked pretty good. Chicago’s heavy hitter nearly missed his first home run of the season in his second at-bat.

Corey Kluber got the best of him in his first appearance since early April as he struck out. Second time around, the wind prevented him from going yard. He just needs to settle in and drive in runs.

An opportunity that he let slip away with Andrew Miller grinding out nearly 50 pitches in the top of the eighth. The Cubs had the bases loaded with no outs against Miller and let him slip away. Only five pitches that inning were strikes.

Missed Chances

During the series against the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cubs had trouble driving in runs. Completely different now since they are playing for a World Series title. No outs and the bases loaded, nothing to show for it?

Not acceptable. Especially for a team that hammered the league and finished with one of the highest run differentials in baseball history. Game 2 is going to have a lot of importance behind it.

And believe me, the Cubs are not going to want to return to Wrigley being down 0-2. So everyone is going to need to buckle down and find their stride like they did against the Giants and Dodgers.

Unwanted Familiar Territory

Looking at Chicago’s lineup, you can’t help but notice Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Addison Russell‘s troubles. All four men combined 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts in the 6-0 loss.

This is something that they had to bounce back from in their previous two matchups against the West Coast teams from California. It took them awhile but they finally showed up in Los Angeles, rallying the Cubs to their first pennant in a very long time.

Yes, the Cleveland Indians are playing fantastic baseball this postseason but Chicago has the tools to beat them. That first inning in last night’s game was huge for Cleveland as it got into the head of southpaw, Jon Lester.

Next: Arrieta named Game 2 starter for Cubs

Shake that one off and move on, he’s still the ace of this pitching staff. With the Indians holding a series lead, they are going to need to provide run support for Jake Arrieta. Arrieta has been hit a lot lately and is yet to win a game in the postseason.

He’ll be taking on Trevor Bauer, who is in no way shape or form, Corey Kluber. It is up to the Cubs on how Game 2 is going to end. They struggled against Matt Moore and Rich Hill, two men who followed Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw — making them look like Cy Young candidates.

Score when the opportunity presents itself and allow your starting pitcher to hand the ball off to the bullpen with a lead. We’ve got six games left to turn things around. So let’s take a deep breath and focus on tonight.

As noted, first pitch has been pushed back due to heavy rain expected in the Cleveland area. Now it’s set for 6:08 p.m. central time, reported by CBS Chicago.

We’ll have more World Series coverage throughout the day including pregame notes and the recap of Game 2. Again, Jake Arrieta takes on Trevor Bauer. Let’s head back to Wrigley with a chance of closing things out.