Tom Williams: There will be crying in baseball tonight

Game 7 — two of the most magical words in sports.

Saturday night when the Indians took a 3-1 lead over the Cubs in the World Series, the last thing anyone in Ohio wanted was for this showdown to go the distance.

But those days are over. The Cubs have rallied (first a nail-biter at Wrigley Field on Sunday, then a blowout Tuesday at Progressive Field) to force a deciding contest. Tonight, the Cubs and Indians will face off at Progressive Field for one of the most memorable finishes baseball has ever seen.

It should be fantastic, with so much drama at stake. Something’s got to give between the two teams who have gone the longest since winning a championship (Indians in 1948, Cubs in 1908).

How can anyone look away?

Some frustration has taken root and it’s understandable — those who packed the ballpark Tuesday night were hoping to see history. The last time a Cleveland team clinched at home was 1964 when the Browns defeated the Colts in the NFL Championship game. There aren’t a lot of us who remember that experience.

The Indians are going for their third World Series crown. (The other one came in 1920.)

Early on, Tuesday’s dream finish morphed into a nightmare on East 9th Street as the Cubs scored three runs in the top of the first inning then added four on Addison Russell’s grand slam in the third inning.

It was not pretty for the hometown fans.

Which brings us to Game 7. The Indians will send Corey Kluber back to the mound on three days rest. The Cubs will counter with Kyle Hendricks. who didn’t receive a decision in the Indians’ 1-0 win in Game 3.

Kluber won Games 1 (6-0) and 4 (7-2) and has been the Cubs’ Kryptonite. He struck eight of them in the first three innings of Game 1.

Short rest is an adventure, but Kluber claims he’s OK.

“I haven’t found much of a difference yet in the way I feel when I go out there of three days rest,” the Indians ace said. “I still get in the same amount of work in between, it’s just a little bit more condensed.”

Hendricks was impressed with how well Kluber handled his Game 4 assignment.

“I don’t think there are too many guys that could do it,” said Hendricks of pitching so well with one less day of preparation.

“Obviously, he’s a special guy,” Hendricks said. “The way he takes the mound, he’s always locked in. He has a very, very good mental approach from what you can see from the outside.

“I think it speaks volumes to him as a pitcher and what he can do.”

Indians manager Terry Francona said the plan for the Series was to use Kluber three times.

“I think good players, good pitchers can do special things,” Francona said. “He’s in that category. You’ve seen what Andrew Miller has done. You saw what [Cubs closer Aroldis] Chapman did the other day. It was kind of an easy decision after talking to him.”

Kluber said he’s got all the inspiration he needs.

“I don’t think you’d need extra motivation, whether it be home of away,” Kluber said. “It’s been a blast.”

The Indians have home-field advantage, but does it matter that much? They won twice in three games at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have won two of three games at Progressive Field.

You want to believe that the hometown fans will make a difference.

The good news for the Indians is that Francona’s key bullpen components (Andrew Miller, Cody Allen) are fully rested.

The Cubs used Chapman for (more or less) two innings. Their ace in the hole will be starter John Lackey, the Game 7 winner for the Angels 14 years ago. Lackey was the losing pitcher in Game 4.

On deck: Game 7. You’re going to see grown men cry.

Tom Williams is a sportswriter at The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Williams_Vindy.