Over the course of the 2016 season we have seen some bizarre trends with the Cubs. One night they may be putting up ten runs and then the next, a fat zero. We have seen this trend recently as well. When the Cubs met up with the Dodgers for the NLCS, in games two and three the Cubs didn’t score a single run. In game four, however, the Cubs put up double digits on the Dodgers. After being shutout in game one of the World Series, the Cubs hoped that a similar trend would ensue in game two. If they wanted to have the series evened up heading to Wrigley, the bats would have to be clicking and the pitching would have to be phenomenal.

Game two featured the reigning Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta against Trevor Bauer, who injured one of the fingers on his pitching hand by cutting it on a drone. According to the numbers, it seemed like Jake Arrieta had the advantage in game two. Arrieta has a lower postseason ERA at 3.78 compared to Bauer’s (5.00). Also, Arrieta has seven more postseason strikeouts than Bauer. Enough said about their past, though. It’s the World Series and anything can happen.

Wednesday was different. Cubs fans did not have to watch the whole game anticipating a run. Instead, they only had to wait a few minutes, and who better to start out the scoring than the two NL MVP candidates. After Kris Bryant singled in the first with one out, Anthony Rizzo smacked a double into right field, easily scoring Bryant from first. Just like that the Cubs had momentum and a 1-0 lead.

Come the third inning the Cubs had more to offer; this time from a man who has been making every sports headline in the past few days. Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the batter’s box with Rizzo on second and Zobrist on first. Schwarber focused, became aggressive and slammed a sharp line drive out to right field. It dropped as a single while Rizzo came into score, giving the Cubs a 2-0 advantage. Schwarber still wasn’t done with the Indians. After a Ben Zobrist triple scored Anthony Rizzo from first and took Trevor Bauer out of the game, Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate with a runner 90 feet from the Cubs’ fourth run of the night. On a 1-2 count the Indians new pitcher, Bryan Shaw, made a mistake and gave Schwarber a ball that he could easily put on the ground. The ball got passed the middle infielders into center field, which gave the Cubs a commanding 4-0 lead. Schwarber just continues to amaze the people of Chicago and, quite frankly, the entire MLB. Schwarber has proved that it doesn’t matter how many games he has missed this season. That is irrelevant. No matter the situation, he will always come up in the clutch.

Later in the inning, Brian Shaw walked Addison Russell with the bases loaded. The man who crossed the plate to give the Cubs a 5-0 lead was Kyle Schwarber and after the fifth concluded it was safe to say the Cubs had provided enough run support. From there on in it was up to their pitchers.

Jake Arrieta could not have pitched better than he did Wednesday night. Whenever Cleveland was threatening to score he blocked their opportunities.  Arrieta had a no hitter going through 5 ⅓ innings along with six strikeouts. Later on in the sixth inning, the Cubs’ star right hander would allow a run due to a wild pitch in which Jason Kipnis took home.

After the one run scored Craig Bosio and Joe Maddon decided to go to their bullpen, the Cubs brought in Mike Montgomery who pitched two scoreless innings. Later in the eighth he would hand the ball over to Aroldis Chapman who sealed the final four outs of the game, giving the Cubs their first World Series victory since 1945.

So about that odd trend the Cubs have been going through over the course of the 2016 season. It is becoming more and more clear that if the Cubs are able to score before their opponent does in the early stages of the game, then they will gain momentum and confidence and most likely walk away with a victory. If they have a lead after the first three innings, the chances of them winning are very significant. In fact, the Cubs have won every single game this postseason in which they have scored first. If their opposition strikes early, then we could be in for a long night of anticipation. With that being said, the key for the Cubs winning the World Series is jumping out early.

Today is a travel day for the Indians and the Cubs. They will get some rest and will then  play the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945 on Friday night. Wrigleyville is going to be electric. With the Cubs having all of the weekend games, inside and around Wrigley will be full of the Cubs’ faithful. The probable starters for game three are Josh Tomlin for the Indians and Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs. Hendricks will pitch for the first time since the Cubs won the NLCS at home where he threw 7 ⅓ scoreless innings. Tomlin comes into game three with a 2.53 ERA and ten strikeouts. As always, check in with The Forest Scout the following morning of a World Series game for a complete wrap-up of the previous nights ball game.