Game 7

The Chicago Cubs last won the World Series 108 years ago. It’s a mere 68 for the Cleveland Indians.

The dreams of one franchise will come true on Wednesday night while the frustrations continue for the other.

The Cubs, with a 9-3 victory on Tuesday night in Cleveland in Game 6, evened the World Series at three games apiece, with Game 7 in Cleveland at 8:08 p.m. ET. Only five teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the Series, the last being the Kansas City Royals in 1985. The last team to do it by winning the final two games on the road was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Of course, this has been a year of comebacks. The Cleveland Cavaliers trailed the Golden State Warriors 3-1 in the NBA Finals but rallied to take the title. The Warriors got to the finals by overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder. And the Cubs were down 3-2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series before pulling it out.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon says he likes to score early and the Cubbies put up three runs in the first inning to make their lives a bit easier. Addison Russell’s grand slam in the third inning provided them with a 7-0 lead. They were far sharper in the field than the Indians and got another strong outing on the mound from Jake Arrieta (5 2/3 innings, two hits, nine strikeouts).

History and drama were always the fabric of this series, given the title droughts of both. Now it comes down to a seventh game. We’ll see who makes the magic.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman