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3 Takeaways From Cleveland Indians’ Loss In Game 5

By Ryan Rosko

Oct 30, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) prepares to pitch during the ninth inning in game four of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) prepares to pitch during the ninth inning in game four of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tonight was not the night for the Cleveland Indians to close out the World Series.

The Cleveland Indians now lead the 2016 World Series after dropping Game 5 tonight 3-2. How did they lose? Here is why.

Cleveland Got Behind Early

Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant hit a solo home run off of Cleveland Indians starter Trevor Bauer. Bryant’s homer in the fourth inning was just the start of Chicago’s scoring streak in the inning.

Just like Cleveland’s approach when having and keeping a lead and getting to their bullpen, Chicago looked to get to their star reliever Aroldis Chapman as soon as possible. Starter Jon Lester did his part to put Chicago into such a position. He finished with six innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs,, and five strikeouts.

Chapman entered the game in the seventh inning, and like when Cleveland’s Andrew Miller gets on the mound, shut down the Tribe from the start.

At times during Cleveland’s at-bats, confidence was still high for Tribe players to still do some damage versus the talented Chapman. Yet, time and time again, the Indians struggled to get anything going, especially after he got into the game.

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Chapman pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up just one hit and striking out four batters. Tonight, Cleveland could have won it all, so it made all the sense in the world to see Chapman pitch as much as he did.

However, it was disappointing to see Cleveland not have any sort of success throughout the whole game and especially towards the end of the game.

Bauer Pitched Better But It Was Not Good Enough

Once again, Bauer got the loss in a World Series game. The good news is that each time he has pitched, the box score has improved. Unfortunately, such improvements are still not good enough. Tonight, the Cleveland starter finished with just four innings pitched.

However, Bauer did strikeout seven. The black eye obviously was the fourth inning that was pitched. As described above, Chicago hit Bauer hard then. The Cubs didn’t score after the fourth, but they did score enough to knock Bauer out of the game following the inning.

Three runs are not a lot, but in the postseason that belief can be altered. Still, what is frustrating is that Cleveland has the talent to score a ton of runs.

Yet, they struggle to regularly score enough. Scoring 1-3 runs cannot cut it. Who knows, if the Indians could score more often, perhaps Bauer would have been considered to stay in the game longer.

Once Chapman Entered, Chicago’s Confidence Increased But They Are Forgetting Something

Lester did a great job for Chicago. Cleveland simply needs to do stop missing on the opportunities. Prior to Chapman entering the game, there were multiple chances for the Indians to do do something and get the lead back.

Never such offensive production occurred and once the seventh inning came around, something changed. That something was the confidence both the Cubs and their fans seemed to have an increase in.

It is understandable why, but the game wasn’t even over at that time. By the time the game ended, that confidence appeared to be higher.

That said, Chicago should not count their chickens before they hatch. The bottom line is that Cleveland is still in great shape and are the favorites to still win the World Series. They still only need to win game to win the series. What also plays into Cleveland’s hands is that both of the remaining games are at home.

Next: Cubs Player Thinks Cubs Are Nervous

Besides, Indians ace Corey Kluber will be pitching Game 7 and he has been lights out. No one is going to succeed against him. All the pressure is on Chicago. It is not if the Indians will win it all, but when.

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