Chicago 365 Playoff Central: The Clobbering

     After a 6-0 loss to the Indians in Game 1 of the World Series, the Cubbies were back at it for Game 2. Trevor Bauer was throwing for the Indians, while Jake Arrieta was on the mound for us. A degree of uncertainty followed both starters into the game, Bauer had injured his finger fixing a drone and was still on the mend, while Arrieta has come down a ways from his other-worldly 2015 version. Still dominant, but slightly less consistent. And that showed in his first two postseason starts, when he went from turning in a solid performance against Madison Bumgarner and the Giants, to when he struggled against the Dodgers. As things got started, we quickly learned that things would go different for the Cubs. Bryant got on base, and then Rizzo brought him in with an RBI. That pretty much set the tone of the game offensively, as the Cubs would go on to score a total of 5 runs. It should also be noted though, that two of those runs came courtesy of RBIs from Kyle Schwarber. That's right, the Schwarbino himself. After getting his first hit all year in Game 1, he proceeded to grab 2 more in Game 2. The man had gone 200 days without seeing major league caliber pitching, and all of a sudden he's hitting .429 in the World Series? This is absurd! Ridiculous! Extraordinary! Whatever you call it, it's another chapter in the Continuing Legend of The Schwarbino.

     But enough about the hitting for now, let's talk about the pitching. The feared inconsistency from Arrieta never showed up. In fact, he took a no-hitter into the 6th inning(at which point Joe Buck & Co. start talking it up like a bunch of amateurs. Seriously, fuck that guy.). And of course, right after they start blabbing about it the no-hitter gets broken up. But Arrieta still did very well. Definitely his second-best postseason performance ever(with the undisputed top outing still being the complete game shutout in the 2015 Wild Card game). Mike Montgomery and Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the victory, a 5-1 win that knotted the series at a game a piece headed back to Wrigley for Friday's Game 3. Game 3 will also be the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945. Anticipation and ticket prices look to be astronomically high. It's gonna be a nutty weekend in Chicago. Get ready for it.