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They were the World Series favorites in spring training. They also managed to make three errors, let two runs score on a wild pitch, and pulled starter Kyle Hendricks an inning too early when they went to Jon Lester, who came on in relief for the first time in 2007. RELATED: Indians fans must wait at least another year.They instead blew a three-run lead when Rajai Davis hit a two-out, two-strike homer off closer Aroldis Chapman, leaving him in tears. They were four outs away from winning the World Series in conventional style. The Cubs, supposedly cursed by everything from Billy goats to black cats to guys wearing headphones reaching for foul balls in the stands, wiped away 108 years of pain on this night.Ĭertainly, it wasn’t easy. If the Indians need a shoulder to cry on, well, the Cubs certainly feel their pain. Hello heartbreak, it’s the Indians again. It’s been 24,859 days and counting since they last won the World Series in 1948. The Indians, after a sensational season, now will be remembered as the first team in 31 years to blow a 3-1 lead. The party of all parties, making Mardi Gras look like a church social, finally arrived.Īnd for the city of Cleveland, and all of their diehard Indians’ fans, winter has officially begun. Zobrist’s go-ahead double and Montero’s crucial insurance absolved Chapman and his manager, Joe Maddon, of their Game 7 sins and launched the party of all parties - from the concourses of Progressive Field to the streets of Wrigleyville a couple states over. The 10th-inning rally – started with a leadoff walk to the indestructible Kyle Schwarber - undid a disastrous outing by closer Aroldis Chapman, who retired just one batter but gave up the game-tying, two-run home run by Rajai Davis in the bottom of the eighth - the Cubs just four outs from a championship. The Cubs blew a three-run lead four outs from victory, forged ahead in the 10th inning on RBI hits from Ben Zobrist and Miguel Montero, and then needed two pitchers to survive the bottom of the inning - Mike Montgomery inducing a groundout from Michael Martinez to finally, mercifully, end it. The Cubs, for the first time in 39,466 days, are champions of the world, knocking off the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in 10 innings of Game 7 of the 112th World Series.Īs difficult as the past 108 years have been, the final few innings, the last excruciating outs, seemed almost as challenging. Go ahead and pinch yourself, America, the baseball miracle of all miracles finally happened. The Chicago Cubs, after one of the most dramatic World Series games played, are your 2016 World Series champions. CLEVELAND - It was the moment that time stood still, the earth quit spinning, and a beleaguered but loyal fan base stopped breathing.įinally, after 108 years, the miracle everyone has been awaiting actually happened Wednesday.
