The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 in Game 3 of the World Series in Chicago, after the Indians' pinch hitter Coco Crisp helped break the scoreless deadlock in the top of the seventh inning.
Cleveland now takes a 2-1 game lead in a Series that has featured dominant pitching by the winning team of each game.
After three innings, Game 3 shaped up as a pitchers' duel, with both Chicago Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks and Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin allowing no runs.
Since there's no designated hitter in a National League park, the Indians' DH (and leadoff hitter) Carlos Santana played left field.
One of the key storylines to note is the absence of Cubs designated hitter Kyle Schwarber from the starting lineup. The young slugger spent the season rehabbing a torn-up knee and was just activated for the Series. His hitting was a key reason why the Cubs won Game 2. But Schwarber hasn't been cleared to play in the field, and since Game 3 is in Chicago, a National League city, there is no DH.
Indians starter Josh Tomlin was in command through four-plus innings, while Cleveland's three relievers kept the Cubs hitters off balance the rest of the game.
The fifth inning had seen the departure of both starting pitchers.
Indians manager Terry Francona took Josh Tomlin out after he gave up one hit — just the second Cubs hit of the night — and got the next batter to ground out. Indians reliever Andrew Miller was brought in to get the final out of the frame.
The Cleveland Indians mounted their most serious threat in Game 3 thus far, in the top of the fifth inning, by knocking Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks out of the game after loading the bases with a hit, a walk and a hit batsman. But Cubs reliever Justin Grimm induced Francisco Lindor to hit into a double play.
In the sixth, Cubs reliever Carl Edwards retired the side without incident. Indians reliever Miller struck out the three Cubs batters he faced in the bottom of the inning.
The Indians broke the scoreless deadlock in the top of the seventh inning when Crisp singled to score pinch runner Michael Martinez from third base. Martinez was running for Roberto Perez, who opened the frame with a single. Martinez went to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a wild pitch by Cubs reliever Carl Edwards.
The Cubs threatened to score in the bottom of the ninth, putting runners on second and third, but they couldn't push a runner across.
Game 4 of the Series will be played Saturday. The scheduled pitchers are John Lackey for the Cubs and Corey Kluber for the Indians. Kluber was the winner of Game 1 in Cleveland.
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