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The World Series has moved back to Cleveland, and this is good news for the Cubs. For one, they forced this game to happen in the first place by winning Game 5 in Chicago. Second, though, is the return of Kyle Schwarber to the lineup. As Schwarber was only medically cleared for swinging the bat and running the bases, he couldn’t play the outfield at Wrigley under NL rules. With the DH an option once more, though, the Cubs can use the best version of their lineup: no pitchers hitting, and Schwarber picking up four plate appearances instead of just the one pinch-hitting affair.
As said, that’s good news, but it’s not as if playing Schwarber means the Cubs are definitely going to win, either. Josh Tomlin has already pitched well against them once during the World Series, and both Cody Allen and Andrew Miller just had two nights off thanks to the Game 5 loss and travel day. Those might be the only pitchers the Cubs see on Tuesday, if Tomlin can throw five successful frames. Plus, Cleveland also just got a boost to both their lineup and their defense: they don’t need to balance Carlos Santana and Mike Napoli anymore, nor do they need to play with Santana in the outfield.
If the Indians don’t win Game 6, they have Corey Kluber going in Game 7. Kluber only threw 88 pitches in Game 1 and 81 pitches in Game 4 — he might be the most well-rested ace pitching three games in the history of the World Series. That’s something to talk about on Wednesday, though, and only if the Cubs manage to force a Game 7 to begin with. Right now, they have to beat Tomlin, the Indians bullpen, or both depending on how much offense Cleveland manages against Jake Arrieta.
- Regardless of what goes down Tuesday night in Game 6, Wrigley finally got a reason to celebrate during this World Series.
- Michael Baumann was on the scene in Chicago during the World Series, so that’s something you should read if you haven’t.
- MLB published what they consider to be the top 10 Game 6s in history. Rangers fans, you probably want to stop at No. 2.
- Patrick Dubuque wrote about the gray area of sportsmanship in the postseason.
- The Orioles still haven’t decided if they’ll submit the qualifying offer to Matt Wieters again. Wieters accepted the QO last offseason, then didn’t exactly have the kind of season that gets you a big, multi-year deal.
- The Nationals have to decide if they’ll pick up Gio Gonzalez’s 2017 option, which is a bigger decision than it sounds like only because his 2018 option will vest automatically with 180 innings — regardless of their quality.
- Justin Turner will be a free agent, and he could very well get paid by someone besides the Dodgers.
- Well, this is potentially ugly. MLB wants an international draft. In response, an annual Dominican workout shut down to show their displeasure with that plan. MLB’s response to that very well might have been to demand drug tests from some of the top prospects, which could impact their signings or bonuses.
- The Rangers aren’t expected to pick up Derek Holland’s option, not unless they need to in order to trade him.
- Ten years ago, Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle died in a plane crash. Vice Sports spoke to his widow about how she carries on.