Cubs vs. Indians, 1-to-1

GAME 1: Indians 6-0
GAME 2: Cubs 5-1

Road teams that split the first two games have won 45 percent of the time in the World Series (22 of 49 chances).

The winner of Game 2, in a 1-1 Series, has gone on to win just 50.9 percent of the time. It’s only happened two of the last 10 times.

Game 2 took four hours and four minutes as 357 pitches were thrown.

The next three games are at Wrigley after the Cubs won their first World Series game in 71 years and 18 days.

Here’s how Wrigley played in 2016: lefties saw a 16 percent reduction in homers compared to the league average whereas righties went up 17 percent, the fourth best mark in the majors. Check out that link for more data about Wrigley, especially how it plays when the wind is a factor.

The Cubs won their 111th game this season which ties the 1907 Cubs for the second most ever in club history. The 1906 Cubs won 116 regular season games and then lost the World Series to the White Sox winning two games in the process leading to 118 total wins.

The Cubs became the first team to win a World Series game with six players under 25 years of age in the starting lineup: Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Willson Contreras are 24, Kyle Schwarber and Javier Baez are 23, and Addison Russell is 22.

The Indians, since the start of the American League Championship Series, have averaged just 2.7 runs per game. In two Series games Carlos Santana is 0-for-6, Kipnis is 1-for-9, Lonnie Chisenhall is 1-for-6, and Rajai Davis is 1-for-7. In 10 postseason games the Indians are batting .210 with a .271 OBP and .379 SLG. They simply must hit better.

Jake Arrieta took a no-hitter in Game 2 into the 6th innings before settling for 5.1 no-hit innings before giving up the first bingo. It was the longest no-hit bid in the Series since Jerry Koosman tossed 6-innings before allowing a hit in Game 2 of the 1969 Series. "I wanted to stay aggressive and continue to allow these guys to put the ball in play on quality pitches in the bottom of the strike zone, and that was the mindset throughout, regardless of whether I gave up a hit or not,’ said Arrieta who finished the game allowing one run over 5.2 innings.

Trevor Bauer lasted just 3.2 innings permitting two walks, six hits and two runs. His finger wasn’t an issue but he struggled to find the release point on his curveball and was simply ineffective.

Jason Kipnis ended the no-hit bid of Arrieta, but he also committed two errors that led to the Cubs widening their lead. Lonnie Chisenhall was also brutal in right field.

Danny Salazar returned to the mound tossing a triumphant scoreless sixth inning for the Indians. "I was nervous the first time they said 'Danny go warm up,'" Salazar said. "But after I threw like two pitches, it was back to normal, feeling the way I used to feel like when I threw in my 'pen before the game." Salazar threw eight strikes out of 19 pitches, threw his fastball about six tenths a mph lower than his season long average, and didn’t throw a slider or curveball, pitches he threw on 13 percent of his regular season offerings.

Kyle Schwarber has a 1.274 OPS in the postseason, the highest of any player in postseason history (minimum 40 plate appearances). He had two hits and two RBI in Game 2. Able to fill the role of DH in Cleveland, it’s still unclear if he will be able to play in the outfield as the series shifts to Chicago. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said that doctors still haven’t cleared Hoyer to return to the outfield yet. "That's something I'm waiting to hear from our medical side, because obviously he looks good," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He looks good at the plate. Running the bases, he looks pretty good so far. When asked after Game 1 if he was able to play the outfield Schwarber answered "No, not right now." We shall see.

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Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).