Jake Arrieta Carries Cubs To 5-1, World Series Game 2 Win Over Indians

Jake Arrieta carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, finishing with one run allowed over 5 2/3 innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on Wednesday night, thus tying the World Series at one game apiece.

Jake Arrieta Carries Cubs To 5-1, World Series Game 2 Win Over Indians

The win marked the Cubs’ first in the World Series since Oct. 8, 1945. Game 3 is set for Friday night, when Wrigley Field hosts its first World Series game in 71 years.

“Wrigley, it’s going to be — you know, it’s always good. It’s always crazy good, but I’d have to imagine a little bit more than that, especially coming back at 1-1,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “I think the folks will be jacked up about the win tonight. But it is, it’s the finest venue there is in professional sports and maybe in all of sports. … But now having a World Series to root for, it’s going to be incredibly special.”

Arrieta threw a first-pitch strike to only half the batters he faced. He tossed 98 pitches in all, but only 55 were strikes. The right-hander walked three batters.

“Maintaining a consistent feel on a night like this, with the weather the way it was, can be tough,” he said.

Yet here Arrieta was at the beginning of the sixth inning, carrying the longest no-hit bid in a World Series game since the Mets’ Jerry Koosman in 1969. The Cubs righty was two outs shy of matching the team’s longest no-hit bid in the World Series, done in 1906 by Ed Reulbach, who tossed six no-hit innings in Game 2 against the crosstown rival White Sox..

“He had so much movement on his ball, and he was kind of effectively wild,” Indians slugger Mike Napoli said of Arrieta. “He hit the corners when he needed to, and then you can’t really sit in an area because he was moving the ball all over the place. He did a good job. He shut us down for five innings without even getting a hit.”

Arrieta found himself in the same mess as Game 1 starter Jon Lester. Both got two outs to start the game, but then walked Francisco Lindor and Napoli back-to-back. Lester allowed two runs Tuesday night en route to a 6-0 loss, but Arrieta escaped when he got Jose Ramirez to fly out.

The reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers were in attendance, including LeBron James, but they couldn’t help the Tribe win. Indians starter Trevor Bauer, making his first postseason start since his bloody finger incident in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series, was chased out after 3 2/3 innings. Bauer threw 87 pitches in his abbreviated outing.

“They never let him settle into the game,” Tribe manager Terry Francona said. “You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. … As a staff in general, we worked behind a lot tonight, a lot more than is helpful. I think some of their hitters deserve credit for that also.”

Kyle Schwarber recorded two hits and drove in two runs for the Cubs, while Anthony Rizzo provided a spark with an RBI double in the first. Rizzo drew a walk with two outs in the third and scored on Schwarber’s single, and then he battled Zach McAllister in a 10-pitch at-bat in the fifth, fouling off five straight pitches before drawing a walk and scoring on Ben Zobrist’s triple.

Bryant praised Schwarber, saying: “They’re going to make a movie about him,”

Said Schwarber: “I want to help this team get to the ultimate goal. I want to have a good at-bat every time I go to the plate.”

Maddon must have been very proud of his team. The Cubs became the first team to win a World Series game with six players under 25 in the starting lineup.

Following an off-day, the series shifts to Chicago, where right-hander Kyle Hendricks will get the start for the Cubs on Friday.

Righty Josh Tomlin will take the mound for the Indians. Tomlin has won both of his postseason starts, posting a 2.53 ERA.

CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 26: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs throws a pitch during the sixth inning against the Cleveland Indians in Game Two of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on October 26, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)