Tom Williams: Now it’s a real series

Relax, Indians fans and sip on a hot beverage. Did you really believe that your team was going to sweep the Cubs in the World Series?

One night after the Indians’ Corey Kluber delivered a masterful performance in a 6-0 win, Cubs ace Jake Arrieta returned the favor in Wednesday’s chilly Game 2 at Progressive Field.

This time, it was the Indians batters who struggled to connect in a 5-1 loss. Arrieta didn’t allow a hit until there was one out in the sixth inning. By then, the Cubs had a 5-0 lead, scoring twice off Indians starter Trevor Bauer.

These guys are good, which is going to make this Series memorable.

“They never let him settle into the game,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Some of their hitters deserve credit ... they didn’t chase.

“They had a lot of deep counts.”

Things went wrong almost immediately for the Indians, who were hoping to grab a two-game lead before traveling Chicago’s wild North Side.

In the first inning, Anthony Rizzo doubled to right field. Lonnie Chisenhall threw to second base, allowing Kris Bryant to score from first.

“I think Lonnie thought he had a chance at second,” Francona said. “He actually came pretty close.”

Francona added that the defense “probably” was set up to go home.

Nothing much went right for the Indians after that.

Rizzo walked and scored on Kyle Schwarber’s two-out single in the third.

Bauer was lifted in the fourth inning and followed by six relievers. The Cubs added three runs more in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach.

“For us to win, we generally need to play a clean game, and we didn’t do that,” Francona said.

The manager noted that for the first six innings, the Indians didn’t retire the Cubs with fewer than 19 pitches.

“That’s tough,” Francona said, suggesting they were fortunate the score wasn’t more lopsided. “We gave up nine hits, eight walks, two errors and we only gave up five runs.”

The scene shifts to Wrigley Field where the Cubs will host their first World Series game since 1945 on Friday.

“It’s always crazy good,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of the ballpark, adding he expects it to be “a little bit more than that, especially coming back 1-1.

“I think the folks will be jacked up about the win tonight,” Maddon said. “It’s the finest venue there is in professional sports.”

Kluber will start Saturday’s Game 4 on short rest, which means Bauer is in line to do the same on Sunday. Francona said that was the plan before the Series began but he didn’t reveal it.

“I didn’t want to put Klubes in a tough spot by saying that before he pitched [Game 1],” Francona said. “Part of taking him out then [84 pitches] was with that in mind.”

Wednesday’s loss was Francona’s first as a World Series manager. His Red Sox swept the St. Louis Cardinals (2004) and Colorado Rockies (2007). Now he gets to experience what happens in getting a club to rebound.

Arrieta was anything but perfect early as he walked Francisco Lindor and Mike Napoli with two outs in the first inning.

“I kinda had my foot on the gas a little to much at the start,” Arrieta said.

Soon, he found cruise control as the Indians had just one baserunner in their next four at-bats.

“I knew I hadn’t given up a hit, but that’s really not the focus in a game like this,” Arrieta said.

Grabbing home-field advantage was.

Francona showed his sense of humor was not frozen. Asked about the weather, Francona said, “It was so cold I tried to go to the bathroom in the fourth inning.

“And I couldn’t.”

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