Indians give Kluber Game 1 start vs. Cubs

The Cleveland Indians are going with their ace to begin the World Series, as manager Terry Francona announced Sunday that former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber will get the ball against the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 on Tuesday night.

Kluber will be making his World Series debut following an excellent start to the postseason and a stellar 2016 campaign. The 30-year-old earned his first All-Star berth in 2016 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 227 strikeouts in 215 innings; he also threw three complete games and a major league-high two shutouts.

In the playoffs thus far, Kluber owns a 0.98 ERA and has struck out 13 while walking just four. He started Game 1 of both the division series and LCS and didn't allow a run in either outing against the high-powered offenses of Boston and Toronto.

Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin will follow Kluber in the Indians' rotation and start Games 2 and 3, but the exact order has yet to be determined. If the cut on Bauer's pinkie finger - which opened up and forced him to leave Game 3 of the ALCS after just 21 pitches - is OK, he'll get the Game 2 start while Tomlin would pitch at Wrigley Field; should Bauer incur another setback he'll get the Game 3 start.

A similar situation occurred in the ALCS and forced the Indians to swap Tomlin and Bauer's starts in that series.

Cleveland's starters for Games 4 through 7 have not been determined, though Francona acknowledged to Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com that Kluber, who started Game 4 of the ALCS on three days of rest, "could be an option" to do that again in the World Series.