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Tomlin’s touch gone for Game 6
By Tom Williams
CLEVELAND
Whatever worked for Indians starter Josh Tomlin in Game 3 at Wrigley Field deserted him in the biggest game of the Indians’ past 19 seasons.
The Chicago Cubs jumped on Tomlin for three runs in the first inning and added four more in the third when Addison Russell hit a grand slam off reliever Dan Otero’s third pitch.
Those seven runs combined with Jake Arrieta’s second masterful outing in the World Series forced tonight’s Game 7 at Progressive Field.
The ballpark was jammed with fans hoping to witness the Indians’ first championship in 68 years. Their dreams were crushed early.
Tomlin retired the first two Cubs with the fans buzzing. Then two-out lightning struck.
“Coming out of the gate, he looked terrific,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Kris Bryant’s solo homer on an 0-2 pitch changed everything.
“He left a breaking ball [up],” Francona said.
Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist followed with singles, then Russell hit a flyball to right-center that landed in between Lonnie Chisenhall and Tyler Naquin for a double and 3-0 lead.
Francona said the play was Naquin’s to make.
“Lonnie went hard after it, as he should, but it was Naquin’s ball,” Francona said. “That was an unfortunate play.”
Arrieta, the 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner, had a three-run advantage before he took the mound.
In the third inning, Kyle Schwarber led off with a walk, followed by one-out hits by Rizzo and Zobrist to load the bases.
Otero replace Tomlin and Russell added four more RBIs to give him six.
About the third inning, Francona said he felt Tomlin “had a harder time throwing his breaking ball where he wanted to — it was catching a lot of the plate.”
Arrieta pitched five-and-two-third innings, allowing three hits and strking out nine.
Arrieta said he’s ready for more.
“I’ll definitely be available [tonight] if outs are needed,” Arrieta said.
Bryant said the early lead was crucial.
“You don’t want to let them get to [bullpen aces Andrew] Miller, [Cody] Allen,” Bryant said.
In the seventh inning, Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman entered with one out. Two innings later, he was still on the mound with a seven-run lead.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who took him out after Brandon Guyer walked, downplayed whether he overused his closer.
“I think he ended up with 20 pitches,” Maddon said. “Don’t think that was much more impactful than 16.”
Bryant said he doesn’t feel the Cubs need to do anything different against Kluber.
“I don’t know that anything changes,” the Cubs’ third baseman said. “He’s a good pitcher, he’s a tough one, but we’ve got a good one [Kyle Hendricks] going, too.”