CLEVELAND, Ohio – A three-run first inning set the tone for a 9-3 Cubs victory in game six of the World Series. With the best of seven knotted 3-3, Major League Baseball will crown a champion Wednesday with a winner-take-all affair in Cleveland.
Kris Bryant hit a first inning, 0-2, two out pitch 433 feet to give Chicago a 1-0 lead. Bryant also homered in the Cubs’ game five victory. Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist, who followed with two-out singles, both scored on Addison Russell’s double. Russell, the 22 year old shortstop, put the game out of reach in the third inning with the first grand slam in a World Series game since 2005 (Paul Konerko).
Pitching with a big lead, former Norfolk Tides pitcher Jake Arrieta earned the victory by throwing 5.2 innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out nine. It’s his second victory of the World Series. He joins Yusmeiro Petit (2014), Mike Adams (2011) and John Franco (2000) as former Tides pitchers to earn World Series wins this century.
Speaking of a century, Chicago is one win away from its first World Series title in 108 years. The Cubs will start Kyle Hendricks in game seven. Cleveland, a franchise without a world title since 1948, will counter with ace Corey Kluber.
