CHICAGO — Aroldis Chapman got eight outs in the longest relief appearance of his career and the Chicago Cubs held off Cleveland 3-2 Sunday night, cutting the Indians’ lead in the World Series 3-2.
The Cubs won a Series game at Wrigley Field for the first time since in 1945. They’ll try to extend their season in Game 6 at Cleveland on Tuesday night when Chicago right-hander Jake Arrieta faces Josh Tomlin.
Kris Bryant’s homer sparked a three-run burst in the fourth inning that gave Jon Lester and the Cubs the lead.
Carl Edwards Jr. relieved Lester to begin the seventh with a 3-2 edge. With a runner on second and one out, Chapman was called in.
The hard-throwing closer hadn’t pitched in the seventh inning since 2012. Chapman escaped the jam, then shut down the Indians for a save.
Jose Ramirez homered for Cleveland. Losing pitcher Trevor Bauer went four innings.
9:55 p.m.
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder led the crowd in singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch in Game 5, dedicating the performance to retiring Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross.
Vedder, a huge Cubs fan, praised team owner Tom Ricketts and President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein for helping bring the World Series back to Wrigley Field, and said he planned to sing for Ross in his final home game. Vedder than launched into the famous song, getting some help from a taped version by late Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray.
The Cubs had a 3-2 lead, trying to force Game 6 on Tuesday night in Cleveland. Vedder signed off with “We love you Rossy. Let’s take this show to Cleveland.”
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9:50 p.m.
Needing a win to send the World Series back to Cleveland for Game 6, Cubs manager Joe Maddon took a page out of counterpart Terry Francona’s book and brought in his best reliever in the seventh inning with a runner on second and Chicago clinging to a 3-2 lead.
Star closer Aroldis Chapman relieved Carl Edwards Jr. with one out and struck out Jose Ramirez swinging at a 100 mph fastball. Chapman hit Brandon Guyer in the leg with his next pitch before retiring Roberto Perez on a groundout to second, delighting the towel-waving crowd at Wrigley Field.
Edwards replaced starter Jon Lester to begin the seventh. The right-hander gave up a leadoff single to Mike Napoli, who went to second on a passed ball, before getting Carlos Santana on a fly to left.
Lester, a 19-game winner, struck out five without a walk in six innings. He gave up a solo homer to Ramirez in the second and an RBI single with two outs in the sixth to Francisco Lindor.9:25 p.m.
Francisco Lindor hit an RBI single with two outs in the sixth inning to trim Cleveland‘s deficit to 3-2 in Game 5.
Rajai Davis singled off Cubs starter Jon Lester with one and stole second. He scored on Lindor’s line drive to center field.
With Mike Napoli batting, Lindor was thrown out trying to steal second by catcher David Ross to end the inning.
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9:05 p.m.
The Indians held watch parties at Progressive Field for all three World Series games in Chicago. The cumulative attendance at the ballpark was 67,218, which represents three straight sellouts and a total donation of $336,090 to Cleveland Indians Charities. Several thousand additional fans watched the games on screens set up between the ballpark and neighboring Quicken Loans Arena, home of the NBA champion Cavaliers.
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8:55 p.m.
Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer is out after five innings.
The Indians brought in Mike Clevinger to start the bottom of the fifth, with the Cubs leading 3-1.
Bauer was sailing along with a 1-0 lead before the Cubs broke out with three runs in the fourth, starting with Kris Bryant’s leadoff homer.
The right-hander gave up six hits and struck out seven without a walk.
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8:35 p.m.
Kris Bryant led off a three-run fourth with his first World Series homer, and the Cubs grabbed a 3-1 lead over the Indians.
Bryant lined a 1-1 fastball from Trevor Bauer just beyond the left-field wall for his second postseason homer — and first since Game 3 of the NL Division Series against San Francisco.
Fans were still dancing and shaking the upper deck when Anthony Rizzo lined the next pitch off the ivy in right for a double. He moved up on a single by Ben Zobrist and came around on Addison Russell’s infield single to third.
The retiring David Ross, playing his final home game, added a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.
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8:10 p.m.
Trevor Bauer struck out five while pitching one-hit ball and Jose Ramirez homered off Jon Lester in the second to give the Indians a 1-0 lead over the Cubs through three innings in Game 5.
Bauer, the eccentric right-hander who cut his right pinkie repairing a drone and almost ruined his team’s postseason chances, dominated in the early going. The only hit he allowed through three innings was a second-inning single by Addison Russell.
Ramirez had the lone hit for Cleveland when he drove the first pitch he saw out to left for his first career postseason homer. That silenced a crowd that was roaring moments earlier when Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo caught a foul pop by Carlos Santana that had deflected off catcher David Ross’ glove.
The home run was the only hit allowed by Lester, who struck out the side in the first.
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8 p.m.
Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward made a highlight reel catch on Trevor Bauer’s foul in the third.
He planted his foot and grabbed the top of the wall, then reached back toward the field with his glove to snag the ball.
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7:40 p.m.
Jose Ramirez homered off Jon Lester with two outs in the second inning to give the Indians a 1-0 lead in Game 5.
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had just caught a foul pop by Carlos Santana that had deflected off catcher David Ross’ glove, drawing a big roar from the crowd.
Ramirez silenced them when he drove the next pitch to the left-field seats for his first career postseason homer. He had 11 homers during the regular season.
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7:20 p.m.
Game 5 of the World Series is underway.
Rajai Davis struck out swinging at a 2-2 changeup leading off against Jon Lester.
With a 3-1 lead in the Series, the Indians have a chance to capture their first championship since 1948 and extend a drought for the Cubs that dates to 1908.
Trevor Bauer, the eccentric right-hander who cut his right pinkie repairing a drone and almost ruined his team’s postseason chances, starts for Cleveland. Lester — 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in this postseason — is trying to keep the season going for the Cubs after they led the majors with 103 wins and won their first pennant in 71 years.
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6:30 p.m.
Michael Brantley can’t play in the World Series, but he helped the Indians win Game 4.
Starter Corey Kluber went to the plate with one of the injured Brantley’s bats on Saturday night, and after fouling off several two-strike pitches from John Lackey, the right-hander hit a slow roller toward third for an infield single in the second inning. Lonnie Chisenhall scored when the ball bounced away from Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
Kluber, who went on to get his second win of the series, showed he’s more than capable with the bat.
“He didn’t just give in,” manager Terry Francona said. “He worked for it and he ended up getting rewarded. “I know it went 20 feet, but he made him (Lackey) throw about seven pitches and he busted his butt down the line.”
Brantley was limited to just 11 games this season following shoulder surgery. He underwent another procedure and the Indians expect the former All-Star to be healthy next season.
Francona wasn’t aware Kluber had used one of the left fielder’s bats.
“He doesn’t have his own, I know that,” he said. “I wish it was Brantley.”
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Terry Francona might skip dessert for a day or two.
Unable to sleep before Game 5 of the World Series, Cleveland’s manager said he ordered $44 worth of ice cream from hotel room service.
“I had two orders of chocolate and two orders of vanilla with chocolate sauce, and then to kind of keep it healthy, I ordered the berries,” he told reporters at Wrigley Field. “And, a Diet Coke.”
Francona said he had to dig deep to finish the early morning treat.
“I got down to the point where I had two scoops left,” he said. “And I said, ‘I can do this.'”
So what did room service say when he placed such a large order.
“How many people?” he said.
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6:15 p.m.
The Indians may be down one player for Game 5 as right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall is sick.
Manager Terry Francona said Chisenhall was stricken with a stomach bug Sunday afternoon. He came with the team to Wrigley Field, but the Indians sent him back to the hotel so he wouldn’t infect any other players. Chisenhall is getting rest and liquids, but Francona won’t know until closer to game time whether he will be available.
Chisenhall is just 1 for 13 in the Series.
Brandon Guyer is starting in right field, but that was the plan all along.
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6:10 p.m.
What did manager Joe Maddon do after the Cubs dropped Game 4 on Saturday?
He had a pizza party with his 83-year-old mom Albina until 2 a.m., of course.
And the big topic of conversation?
“I guess all she could talk about with my sister is the car ride from the airport with the cops,” Maddon said. “That’s all she’s talking about right now. So I love the fact. She’s giving me a hard time last night that we haven’t sent enough stuff back for our event in December, for the banquet. I’m getting a hard time. Not enough signed stuff being sent.
Maddon said his mom had to be up at 4 a.m. for her return flight to Pennsylvania. He did not say if she needed a police escort to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, after getting one to Game 3 at Wrigley Field.
Albina Maddon planned to travel from her home south of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to attend Game 3 on Friday night. A fire aboard American Airlines Flight 383 from Chicago to Miami caused extensive delays.
Maddon’s mom had driven two hours to Philadelphia International Airport, and her delayed flight didn’t leave until about 90 minutes before game time. Maddon spoke with Cubs traveling secretary Vijay Tekchandani, and they contacted the police.
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4:55 p.m.
Chicago manager Joe Maddon says it’s OK for Cubs fans to be nervous heading into Sunday night’s must-win game against the Indians.
“Please be nervous, absolutely,” Maddon said. “You should be nervous. We have to win tonight. It’s up to us to get you beyond that moment. I do believe our Cubs fans, the one’s that I have spoken to, are really diggin’ on everything that’s happened. Please go ahead and be nervous.”
Maddon gave no thought to holding a team meeting with his club down 3-1 in the Series.
“I don’t believe in the speech thing working, I don’t,” Maddon said. “I want us to play with emotion but without emotion. In other words, be involved in the moment.”
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4:15 p.m.
Cleveland’s 7-2 win over the Chicago Cubs was the most-watched World Series Game 4 in seven years.
Game 4 Saturday night drew a 9.3 rating, 18 share and 16.7 million viewers on Fox, the network said Sunday, up from a 7.8/15 and 13.6 million for Kansas City’s 5-3 win over the New York Mets last year. The last Game 4 with as many viewers had been when the New York Yankees’ 7-4 victory over Philadelphia in 2009 was seen by 22.8 million.
Game 4 averaged 212,000 for Spanish-language coverage on Fox Deportes and 88,000 for digital viewers on Fox Sports Go.
This year’s Series is averaging a 10.5/19 and 18.2 million viewers, the most for the first four games since 2009 averaged an 11.6/19 and 19.1 million.
The rating is the percentage of television homes tuned to a telecast and the share is the percentage viewing among those households with televisions on at the time.
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3:54 p.m.
Fans milling around Wrigley Field are writing chalk messages of encouragement for the Cubs on the walls outside the ballpark’s famed bleachers.
Chicago trails Cleveland 3-1 heading into Game 5 on Sunday night.
“WE NEVER QUIT,” BELIEVE,” and “WIN FOR GRANDMA NORRIS,” are among the messages scrawled on the brick walls. Several fans stopped to take pictures or video of the scene with their phones.
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3:50 p.m.
Mike Napoli is back in Cleveland’s starting lineup for Game 5 and Carlos Santana is back in left field.
Manager Terry Francona sat Napoli in Game 4 as the Indians took a 3-1 lead in the World Series with a 7-2 win on Saturday night over the Chicago Cubs. He played Santana instead at first and the slugger responded by hitting a home run.
Santana started Game 3 in left — his first career start at the position — and played five innings before he was replaced. He caught the only fly ball hit to him on a gusty night in Wrigley Field.
Napoli, who had started Cleveland’s first 11 games of the postseason, pinch-hit in the eighth inning of Game 4 and flew out to the warning track in center.
With a chance for the Indians to win their first World Series title since 1948, Francona is going with the same lineup he used in Game 1 against Cubs left-hander Jon Lester. Rajai Davis is batting leadoff and playing center and Brandon Guyer is in right.
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After getting a pair of hits in Game 4, slumping Jason Heyward remained in the Chicago Cubs’ starting lineup for World Series Game 5.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon inserted catcher David Ross into Sunday’s lineup in place of Willson Contreras. The 39-year-old Ross, who is retiring, usually catches pitcher Jon Lester.
Heyward, in his first season with the Cubs after signing a $184 million, eight-year contract, was 2 for 31 (.033) with one RBI in the postseason before going 2 for 4 Saturday in Chicago’s 7-2 loss.
Center fielder Dexter Fowler led off, followed by third baseman Kris Bryant, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, left fielder Ben Zobrist, shortstop Addison Russell, Heyward in right field, second baseman Javier Baez, Ross and Lester.
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3:05 p.m.
A pair of World Series losses for the Chicago Cubs has led to a drop in the asking prices for Game 5.
About 4½ hours before the scheduled start of Sunday night’s game against Cleveland, asking prices on StubHub started at $748.
Before Game 3 at Wrigley Field on Friday, the lowest asking price was $1,019. The Indians led the Series 3-1, needing one win for their first title since 1948.
Atmosphere outside the century-old North Side ballpark also was dampened, with only a few people outside Murphy’s Bleachers rather than a lengthy line.
After a pair of relatively warm days, the temperature had dropped into the low 50s Sunday afternoon with a stiff wind.
The Cubs last won the Series in 1908.
