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Happy birthday Keegan Hilary Fox!

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United Way contributes to anti-bullying program

<p>CLEVELAND (AP) &#8212; Most fans around the country can sit back and savor Game 7. Not so easy for anyone who has spent a lifetime rooting for the Cubs or Indians.</p><p>All those years of hope and heartbreak collide Wednesday night when Chicago and Cleveland meet one last time this season to decide the World Series.</p><p>With the Cubs seeking their first championship since 1908 and the Indians trying to stop a drought that dates to 1948, the stakes could hardly be higher.</p><p>&#8220;No one says Game 3 or 5. This is what you want,&#8221; said shortstop Francisco Lindor, who leads the Indians with a .364 Series average.</p><p>Cleveland ace Corey Kluber pitches against Kyle Hendricks, the major league ERA leader. Kluber has a chance to become the first pitcher to win three World Series starts since Detroit&#8217;s Mickey Lolich in 1968.</p><p>Throwback stuff.</p><p>&#8220;The game has changed,&#8221; the 76-year-old Lolich said Tuesday. &#8220;It&#8217;s a totally different game than what we played back in our days. It just doesn&#8217;t happen.&#8221;</p><p>Addison Russell hit a grand slam and tied a Series record with six RBIs in Chicago&#8217;s 9-3 win Tuesday night that forced this captivating matchup to the limit.</p><p>Chicago is trying to become the first club to overcome a 3-1 Series deficit since the 1985 Kansas City Royals and the first to do it by winning Games 6 and 7 on the road since the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates.</p><p>Now it&#8217;s one night, winner take all.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a kid&#8217;s dream,&#8221; Russell said.</p><p>Even after losing two straight, the Indians remain confident.</p><p>Kluber is 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA in four postseason starts, starting with 16 consecutive scoreless innings against Boston in the Division Series and Toronto in the AL Championship Series.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s our guy. That&#8217;s our stud,&#8221; Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis said.</p><p>A 30-year-old right-hander, Kluber started on three days&#8217; rest for the first time in his big league career in Game 4 against the Blue Jays. He left after five innings with the Indians trailing 2-1 in a 5-1 defeat, then threw 88 pitches over six innings as Cleveland beat the Cubs 6-0 last Tuesday in the Series opener.</p><p>He came back on three days&#8217; rest in Game 4, needing 81 pitches for six innings of one-run, five-hit ball in a 7-2 win that gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead.</p><p>&#8220;Obviously, he&#8217;s a special guy,&#8221; Hendricks said. &#8220;You can just see it, the way he takes to the mound. He&#8217;s always locked in.&#8221;</p><p>Nine pitchers have won three starts in a single Series, none since Lolich went 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 21 strikeouts while tossing three complete games against the St. Louis Cardinals.</p><p>&#8220;Good players, good pitchers, can do special things. He&#8217;s in that category,&#8221; Indians manager Terry Francona said. &#8220;It was kind of an easy decision after talking to him.&#8221;</p><p>The 2014 AL Cy Young Award winner, Kluber was 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA this season as Cleveland won the AL Central for the first time since 2007. His win in the All-Star Game at San Diego in July gave the American League home-field advantage in the Series.</p><p>&#8220;I never connected those dots at that point in time,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Already, he is the first pitcher to win Games 1 and 4 in the Series since Cincinnati&#8217;s Jose Rijo in 1990. In addition to Lolich, the only others to win three Series starts were Charles &#8220;Deacon&#8221; Phillippe of Pittsburgh and Bill Dinneen of the Boston Americans (1903), the New York Giants&#8217; Christy Mathewson (1905), the Philadelphia Athletics&#8217; Jack Coombs (1910), Pittsburgh&#8217;s Babe Adams (1909), Cleveland&#8217;s Stan Coveleski (1920), Milwaukee&#8217;s Lew Burdette (1957) and Bob Gibson (1967).</p><p>Hendricks, a 28-year-old right-hander, went 16-8 and didn&#8217;t get a decision in his Game 3 Series start, when he allowed six hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings of a 1-0 loss.</p><p>&#8220;This is the ultimate dream,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When you&#8217;re out in your backyard as a kid, playing Little League at the field with your friends, this is the moment you dream about: Game 7, 3-2, two outs, something like that, bottom of the ninth. But it&#8217;s always Game 7 of the World Series.&#8221;</p><p>Behind the starters, Chicago closer Aroldis Chapman has thrown 62 pitches in the last three days. Cleveland&#8217;s Andrew Miller hasn&#8217;t pitched since Saturday and closer Cody Allen has been rested since Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re all ready to go,&#8221; Miller said. &#8220;Hopefully we&#8217;re fresh.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Chicago Cubs' Ben Zobrist collides with Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez as he scores during the first inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Jamie Squire, Pool)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113326991-3b3013d31ffb40a687cca91524355cf0-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Chicago Cubs' Ben Zobrist collides with Cleveland Indians catcher Roberto Perez as he scores during the first inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Jamie Squire, Pool)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113326991-8f85120bb28d4c01a7bfbd4befb38837-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Chicago Cubs fans celebrate at Progressive Field after Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cubs won 9-3 to tie the series 3-3. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113326991-8f85120bb28d4c01a7bfbd4befb38837-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Chicago Cubs fans celebrate at Progressive Field after Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. The Cubs won 9-3 to tie the series 3-3. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)</caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113326991-1a086fa6d3664df9ac6de3f2be9e3fdb-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cleveland Indians fans watch during the ninth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_113326991-1a086fa6d3664df9ac6de3f2be9e3fdb-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Cleveland Indians fans watch during the ninth inning of Game 6 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)</caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By RONALD BLUM</p><p>AP Baseball Writer</p></bylineMeta></div>

Cubs, Indians take World Series to Game 7: ‘This is what you want’