Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Tuesday nights
showdown?between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the World
Series, and then vote on which team will win at the bottom of the page.
China
Authentic Jerseys . The Indians lead the series 3-2.How we got
hereThe Cubs won 3-2 Sunday, as Jon Lester pitched six solid innings. The Cubs
scratched three runs across off Trevor Bauer in the fourth inning, and Aroldis
Chapman threw 42 pitches to get the final eight outs.?-- David SchoenfieldInside
the pitching matchupWhen Jake Arrieta is on the mound: The 2015 Cy Young Award
winner took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in Game 2, though that was a case
of his being effectively wild, as he walked three batters and threw 98 pitches
in 5 2/3 innings. He has pitched six innings and five innings, respectively, in
his other two starts this postseason, so if that pattern continues, Joe Maddon
will have to bridge some outs from Arrieta to Aroldis Chapman.Arrieta threw just
40 percent of his pitches in the strike zone in Game 2, his lowest rate all
season. The cold weather in that game might have been a factor, but game-time
temperatures for Game 6 are expected to be much higher, in the upper 60s.
Arrieta has regained the confidence to throw his cutter/slider after losing the
feel for it midseason, which led to some of his control issues. Against the
lefty-heavy lineups he has seen in October, Arrieta has thrown that pitch a lot,
including 21 times against the Indians in Game 2. Opponents are 5-for-25 against
it in the postseason, with six strikeouts and no walks. Its not quite the
wipeout pitch it was last year or in April, but its back to being a pitch he can
throw inside to left-handed hitters.Even when he was walking guys in the second
half, Arrieta remained difficult to hit, as he induces a lot of soft contact
with his two-seamer. He doesnt throw his curveball as often as the hard
cutter/slider, but it had a strikeout rate of better than 40 percent in the
regular season. Arrieta doesnt do a very good job holding runners -- base
stealers were 23-for-26 off him -- so the Indians might be aggressive if they
get on.?-- SchoenfieldWhen Josh Tomlin is on the mound: Tomlin has been the
Tribes secret weapon in October; he has allowed three runs in 15 1/3 innings,
and the Indians have won all three of his starts. Tomlin is starting on three
days rest for just the second time in his career, and he pitched much better
this season with more rest; he posted a 5.42 ERA in 15 starts on four days rest
and a 3.47 ERA after five days or more. He threw only 58 pitches in his Game 3
outing.Tomlin hits only 87-88 mph with his fastball, and he isnt going to beat
himself, as he had the lowest walk rate among qualified starters. He pounds the
zone with his fastball, cutter, changeup and curveball; he surrendered 36 home
runs in 174 innings during the regular season but has allowed just one long ball
in his past seven starts, a span of 41 innings.Tomlin has gone heavy on the
curveball this postseason. After throwing it about 16 percent of the time in the
regular season, he has thrown it 34, 42 and 26 percent of the time in his three
playoff starts. If his curveball is working again, thats bad news for the Cubs.
According to Mike Petriello of Statcast, the Cubs had the lowest average exit
velocity in the majors against curveballs, as well as the lowest contact rate
when swinging at curveballs. Tomlin threw 15 of them in Game 3, including five
first-pitch curves, and the Cubs went 0-for-5, plus three other swing-and-misses
and one foul ball.Javier Baez in particular has looked brutal against breaking
balls in this series, and Addison Russell hit .122 against curveballs in the
regular season. Im guessing Tomlin will once again go heavy on the breaking
ball, and Terry Francona will once again have a quick hook if the Indians are
leading in the fifth or sixth inning.?-- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightKyle
Schwarber. Hell be back in the lineup as the DH, which helps extend a Cubs
lineup that hasnt had much production past the first four hitters. Schwarber has
slugged .578 against right-handed pitchers in his brief career, but he is
hitting just .121 in 34 plate appearances that ended in curveballs.?--
SchoenfieldDid you know ...The most recent road team to win Game 6 of a World
Series and force a Game 7 was the 1997 Indians. They defeated the Marlins and
Kevin Brown?4-1. Winning pitcher Chad Ogea not only defeated the Marlins ace but
also had two RBIs.The Indians went on to lose to the Florida Marlins in Game 7
and extend their championship drought.?-- ESPN Stats & InformationWhat will
decide the gameThe team with the better rate of turning ground balls into outs
has won four of the five games in this series. The exception was when the
Indians won Game 4.During the regular season, the Cubs ranked first in the
majors in turning ground balls and bunts into outs (77 percent). The Indians
ranked third, just behind the Giants (both at 76 percent). In the postseason,
the Indians have converted 77 percent and the Cubs 76 percent.Why is this
important to know for these pitchers? Because its important to their success.
Arrieta had the highest ground ball out rate in MLB among pitchers with 15-plus
starts in 2016 (84 percent). Tomlin ranked third in the majors and first in the
AL (81 percent).?--?Mark Simon, ESPN Stats & InfoThe man in blueJoe West has
39 years of experience, the longest run by an umpire in major league history.
This is his sixth World Series (1992, 1997, 2005, 2009 and 2012 are the
others).Top thing to know: West does not call a lot of strikes.West ranks as the
fourth-least likely umpire to call a strike in MLB this season, and he has one
tendency that stands out: Relative to other umpires, West rarely calls the pitch
in the lower-third (and below) area a strike. The gap between him and the umpire
who ranks second-least in calling those pitches is about as big as the gap
between the ump who ranks second and the ump who ranks 22nd.For a right-handed
pitcher, West will call the high strike and the outside strike often to a
left-handed hitter. The area for a right-handed hitter in which he calls strikes
often is the inside corner.For a left-handed pitcher, West doesnt call the
inside strike often to a left-handed batter. He will to a right-handed batter,
though. When a left-handed batter is at the plate, hell call a high outside
pitch a strike a lot. For a right-handed batter, hell also call pitches in that
spot (which is inside for a righty).Who does this favor? Cubs catchers excel at
getting the low strike, while Roberto Perez is very good at getting the high
strike, so it would seem to favor the Indians.It seems highly unlikely that we
would see an ejection, but West did have six ejections this season. In fact, he
ejected Francona and Maddon from separate games nine days apart in
September!Those six ejections tied for fourth among umps. West led umpires with
eight ejections in 2015. -- Simon, ESPN Stats & InfoBetting guide for Game
6Westgate line: Chicago Cubs (Arrieta)-140 at Cleveland Indians (Tomlin) +130
Over/under: 7 (-120 over)Game 6 PickCenter: 55 percent picking ClevelandJoe
Peta: One of the fun things about writing daily for a series that goes six of
seven games is the ability to conduct a comparative pricing analysis. When Josh
Tomlin started Game 3 versus Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs were listed as -220/+200
favorites at first pitch. That game, of course, was at Wrigley Field, and
applying the standard 8 percent adjustment for home field versus a neutral
location (applied twice as were switching to Cleveland) yields an equivalent
line of -155/+145 for tonights game. Click here for moreWho will win?Jake
Arrieta was terrific in his previous outing. So was Josh Tomlin, but there is a
stuff discrepancy here. Plus, Tomlin didnt have to deal with Kyle Schwarber as
DH. Cubs win 6-2 to force an epic Game 7. -- Bradford Doolittle Well finally
have a higher-scoring affair, but the clock will strike midnight on the Cubs
comeback, as the Indians will take a middle-of-the-game lead and hold on with
their vaunted bullpen. A 5-4 win will give the Indians the championship.?--
Jesse Rogers On Sunday night, Cubs fans got to see the W fly over Wrigley after
a World Series game for the first time since 1945. Now its Indians fans turn to
rejoice. Josh Tomlin will continue his late-season roll, the Indians will
scratch out an early run, and the dynamic duo of Andrew Miller and Cody Allen
will do the rest. Then they will all party at Napolis, as the Indians win their
first World Series in 68 years.?-- Scott Lauber?Ive picked against the Indians
basically throughout the whole playoffs. Now, having spent so much time in this
city, Cleveland has grown on me. So for the sake of the people of Believeland, I
will pick ... the Cubs.This is probably very good news for Terry Francona,
LeBron James and all the nice folks Ive met in these parts. If you want a
baseball reason, the Cubs have the advantage in starting pitching. Of course,
every time someone not named Corey Kluber has started for the Indians, the other
club had the advantage, but the Indians still usually won. -- Andrew
MarchandAfter clinching the American League Central title, the Division Series
and the AL pennant on the road, the Indians are ready to claim the biggest prize
of their season at Progressive Field. Although its a comforting feeling to know
staff ace Corey Kluber is ready to go in Game 7, Cleveland is ready to apply the
hammer behind Josh Tomlin in Game 6. The Indians will muster enough early
offense to get the ball to Andrew Miller and Cody Allen and put an end to Major
League Baseballs second-most notable championship drought.?-- Jerry
CrasnickWhere the Series standsThe series moves back to Cleveland, which some
have hypothesized could help the Cubs, as it not only allows them to start
Schwarber but also gets them away from the pressure of winning in front of the
home fans. I dont know if I buy that, especially considering the Indians hit
much better at home -- 136 points higher in OPS -- and returning to the AL game
allows Francona to insert Andrew Miller and Cody Allen without worrying about
pinch hitting for them. Its all hands on deck. The Cubs know they have to stay
alive, and the Indians know they have Corey Kluber in reserve for Game 7.?--
Schoenfield
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.C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been
successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a
team. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Adrian Peterson said his first two days on the
practice field went pretty smoothly, after the Minnesota Vikings decision to
designate him for return from injured reserve. But coach Mike Zimmer cautioned
the Vikings still have plenty to determine before deciding when Peterson would
play and how he would be used.Well have to see where hes at in conditioning.
Theres so many things to figure out, Zimmer said. I think hes in pretty good
shape, but he hasnt sat in meetings for three months. Theres a lot of things to
consider.Peterson, who tore the meniscus in his right knee against the Green Bay
Packers on Sept. 18, practiced for the second time on Thursday. The running back
has said hes shooting to return for the Vikings game against the Packers on Dec.
24, but he has also cautioned he wouldnt play if the Vikings arent in the
playoff race, adding it would be pointless to return for games that didnt have
postseason implications.Asked on Thursday about the running back saying it will
be his decision when he returns, Zimmer said, I wouldnt say it was his decision.
I would say its a combination. Well sit down and talk, and the medical people
[will weigh in]. Its a lot to do with the medical.Said Peterson on Thursday
about the Packers game: That was the goal I had set for [myself], but Im going
to continue to take it one day at a time. When that time comes, as a group, well
sit down and talk.The 31-year-old running back will have to weigh his future in
deciding whether playing this season is worth it. The Vikings hold a team option
on Peterson for 2017, with a $6 million roster bonus due in March and $18
million cap hit, but if Peterson were to return to Minnesota next season, it
would seem likely to be on a restructured contract.Id be lying to you to say
that [the future] is not factoring in [to the decision], he said. In my mind, Im
telling myself that its 100 percent healed, but I really wont know until I look
and see it from images. So with that, youve got to be smart about how you
approach everything.Its not really [about proving myself to the Vikings]. A
little bit, but I feel like thus far, Ive proven myself. Ive been doing this for
10 years. Its not the first injury Ive overcame,, came back and was still able
to be successful.
Cheap NBA Jerseys From China. Proving
anything to the organization, I dont think I have to do that. I think it speaks
for itself.Peterson has been wearing a knee brace in practice the last two days,
and though he has typically shied away from using one in games, he said hed
likely wear one the rest of this year, as he tries to come back from an
operation that can keep players out between four and six months.Its like, Why
not? The new titanium braces are superlight, he said. Its a little
uncomfortable, because I really dont like anything on my knees. But taking in
the situation, Ill wear it.The Vikings tumultuous season means Peterson would be
returning to a team that looks noticeably different than the one he played for
on Sept. 18. Since Pat Shurmur replaced Norv Turner as the offensive coordinator
on Nov. 2, the Vikings have been in shotgun sets two-thirds of the time, with
their 247 shotgun snaps ranking seventh in the league in that time, according to
ESPN Stats & Information.Peterson said Thursday that some of the Vikings
offensive terminology has changed in the switch from Turner to Shurmur, though
the core of the offense remains the same. There are a couple wrinkles in there
that are a little different, he said. The meeting room is different as well. We
have the same offense we had previously, but just with some new twists.Zimmer
added he has not yet talked with Peterson about how the Vikings plan to
structure his workload. Thats completely up to the medical people what he does,
he said.A Peterson return should provide a boost to a Vikings rushing attack
thats on pace for the worst rushing average since the New England Patriots in
1994. Peterson had only 50 yards on 31 carries in his first two games, but
Zimmer on Thursday attributed many of the issues to the Vikings run blocking and
the first two regular-season games in a new system under offensive line coach
Tony Sparano.Asked if Peterson could help even if hes less than 100 percent,
Zimmer said, Well, I think people will play us differently. Im not saying hes
less than 100 percent. ' ' '