Cubs thrash Indians to set up winner-takes-all World Series game seven decider
Jake Arrieta and Addison Russell deliver when it counts for Chicago as both teams look to end long hoodoo
A long-suffering Chicago Cubs team charged to the brink of its first World Series title since 1908 by routing Cleveland 9-3, forcing a winner-take-all showdown Thursday morning (Hong Kong time) for the crown.
Addison Russell smashed the first World Series grand slam in Cubs history and a two-run double as Chicago leveled Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven championship final at 3-3.
That sets the stage for a decider at Cleveland between teams whose supporters have endured epic title waits, more than a century in Chicago’s case, but only one club can claim the throne in game seven.
The Cubs, who last played in the World Series in 1945, own America’s longest sports title drought while the Indians have baseball’s second-longest futility streak, last hoisting the trophy in 1948.
Russell, hitting only .211 (4-for-19) in the Series after game five, smashed a four-run blast in the third inning, the first World Series grand slam since 2005. Along with his two-run double in the first, he matched the one-game Series record for runs batted in with six, done four times, most recently in 2011.