Why the Indians' dominant win changes tone of series
Coming into the World Series, all the talk was centered around the juggernaut Chicago Cubs - and with good reason thanks to their remarkable season and relatively easy jaunt through the NL playoffs to a historic pennant.
A couple hundred miles down the I-90, though, the Cleveland Indians - who won six of their seven playoff games to waltz into the World Series themselves - decided they don't care about no billy goats. While all of the world outside Cleveland was rooting for the Cubs, the Indians jumped all over Chicago with an impressive 6-0 win that made more than a few collars on the North Side tighten.
Cleveland has missed two-thirds of its impressive rotation this October. The Tribe were doubted in the division series against the powerful Red Sox, and again versus the Blue Jays in the ALCS; both those series were over quickly thanks to Cleveland's superb pitching and timely hits. On Tuesday, they did it again: Roberto Perez hit two homers, ace Corey Kluber was dominant through six, then Andrew Miller shut them down for two frames. That's Indians baseball.
Cubs fans saw all the reasons to fear the Indians on Tuesday night. But should they really be worried?
There have been 16 Game 1 shutouts in World Series history, according to Ryan Spaeder of the Sporting News, and nine of the 16 losers came back to win the World Series. But it's the most recent team to win Game 1 in a shutout - the 1990 Cincinnati Reds - who Cubs fans should pay attention to, as their similarities to the 2016 Indians are mind-boggling.
Cincinnati won 91 games in 1990 on the backs of a lights-out bullpen nicknamed the "Nasty Boys" - including co-NLCS MVPs Randy Myers and Rob Dibble - a future Hall of Fame shortstop hitting his prime in Barry Larkin, and a deep lineup without a ton of memorable names. They met the 103-win Oakland Athletics, who were making their third straight World Series appearance with intimidating fire-baller Dennis Eckersley closing games, and the "Bash Brothers" of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, plus AL MVP Rickey Henderson.
Cincinnati shut out Oakland 7-0 in Game 1 at Riverfront Stadium behind eventual series MVP Jose Rijo, then walked off Eckersley in Game 2. By the time the series shifted to Oakland, the stunned A's didn't know what had hit them, and Cincinnati walked to a sweep. Rijo came back in Game 4 to close out the series.
Francisco Lindor is the 94-win Indians equivalent of Larkin, a star in a deep but largely unheralded lineup; Miller and Cody Allen form a bullpen combo even more dominant than Dibble-Myers (largely thanks to Miller); and Kluber - who might come back in Game 4 on short rest - is potentially their Rijo. These Indians are up against the 103-win Cubs - symmetry, again - who boast likely MVP Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in a star-studded lineup, along with a deep rotation and literal flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.
The Cubs walked into Game 1 confident in breaking a drought against an Indians team with starting pitching injuries. But suddenly, after this shutout, they may be wondering who just hit them over the head with a two-by-four.
There's still plenty of time left for the Cubs. Reigning Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta starts Game 2 against noted drone enthusiast Trevor Bauer, before the series shifts to Wrigley Field for the first time in 71 years. The atmosphere at Wrigley will be electric, the noise will be eardrum shattering. They could very well have control of the series again by Friday.
Right now, though, the mighty Cubs' bus just got their first flat tire of the season. That tow truck better hurry with the fix, because Cleveland's nine clean innings from sending Chicago into a full-on panic not seen since Game 7 in 1945.
And the thing about these Indians, as the Red Sox and Blue Jays will tell you, is that they're more than capable of upending your perfect October plans.