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The Indians, who haven't won the World Series since 1948, could clinch the title with a win in Game 5 on Sunday night in Chicago
The Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908
If the Chicago Cubs don’t do something fast, their misery that’s lasted more than a century will continue.
Carlos Santana and Jason Kipnis each hit home runs, and Corey Kluber stymied the Cubs for the second time in this World Series, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 7-2 win in Game 4 at Wrigley Field on Saturday night.
The win gives the Indians a 3-1 series lead. They are a game away from winning their first championship since 1948.
This marks the 47th time that the World Series stands at 3-1. The previous 46 times, the team leading 3-1 has won the series 40 times (87.0%) and has won Game 5 on 26 occasions (56.5%).
The Cubs haven’t won the World Series in 108 years, and until this year, they hadn’t even reached the Fall Classic since 1945. The 71-year wait between championship appearances is the longest stretch for any team in the four major American sports (MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL).
On the flip side, the city of Cleveland – unbelievably – might hold its second championship parade since June.
Should the Indians win it all, it would cap an incredible few months for what previously had been a title-starved city. Until this year, when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA championship, it had been 52 years since Cleveland won a title in any major sport.
“We’re going to show up tomorrow,” Indians manager Terry Francona said after Saturday night’s game. “The only thing that changes is we’ll pack our bags, because we’re going to go home one way or the other, and we’ll show up and try to beat a really good pitcher tomorrow and that’s what we always do. Nothing needs to change.”
Game 5 is Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET. Starting pitchers will be Jon Lester for Chicago and Trevor Bauer for Cleveland.