The Chicago Cubs are the only team to win game seven on the road in extra innings. Not only did their win in 2016 erase a long drought you see, but it was a first of it's kind.
1924 Washington Senators won game seven, at home, in extras. Ditto for the 1991 Minnesota Twins. Florida, 1997, same deal.
Chicago trailed Cleveland 3-1 at their place, Wrigley Field. They managed a 3-2 win in game five, sending it back to Cleveland.
All Chicago in game six, 9-3. This one was going to a deciding game seven.
The Cubs, seeking their first World Championship since 1908, surged ahead 6-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, despite the home team scoring twice on a wild pitch in the fifth. The visitors needed just six more outs!
John Lester, pitching a great game for Chicago, then got the first two men out in the bottom of the eighth, and just four more outs were needed. However, Jose Ramirez sent Lester to the showers with a single to left.
Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch for the third straight game. Brandon Guyner greeted him with a double on a 3-2 pitch, scoring Ramirez and cutting it to 6-4. When Rajai Davis deposited Chapman's 2-2 into the left field stands, it was all tied, 6-6. Chapman gave up still another hit before getting out of that inning.
The Cubs tried to retake the lead the next inning, getting a man to third with less than two outs. But Bryan Shaw extricated the Indians from that problem. Chapman had an easy 1-2-3 ninth to send it to extras.
And get this: Chicago scored twice in the top of the 10th off Shaw to make it 8-6! They had a chance for more, as the bases were loaded and there was one out. Trevor Bauer relived Shaw and got the next two batters out without any further damage.
So it was up to Carl Edwards to close this one out. He blew strike three past Matt Napoli for the first out. Ramirez grounded out. At last! The moment had come for Chicago!
Or had it?
Edwards walked Brandon Guyer, getting just one strike. Rajau Davis was back up, again representing the tying run. Guyer took second on defensive indifference, the pitch being ball one. Davis wasted no time in adding to his heroics of the night, singling to centre on the next pitch. Guyer, off with the crack of the bat, motored on home, 8-7. The Cleveland team was just not going away!
But just when it appeared this one might never end, Mike Montgomery came in to pitch. The tying run was at first. Mike had 100 innings pitched to his name that season, but this was gonna be his most memorable moment in baseball, one way or another.
The batter was Michael Martinez.
Montgomery got a called strike. On the next pitch, Martinez grounded to short! The game and the Fall Classic were over! Chicago had an 8-7, extra-inning win in game seven on the road. The first team to do that.
The long wait was over in Cubbie Land. Chicago had kept at it, not letting themselves get discouraged at Cleveland's comebacks. And they were rewarded for their patience. 7 games, 10 innings, and 108 years were over with that last grounder!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
1924 Washington Senators won game seven, at home, in extras. Ditto for the 1991 Minnesota Twins. Florida, 1997, same deal.
Chicago trailed Cleveland 3-1 at their place, Wrigley Field. They managed a 3-2 win in game five, sending it back to Cleveland.
All Chicago in game six, 9-3. This one was going to a deciding game seven.
The Cubs, seeking their first World Championship since 1908, surged ahead 6-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, despite the home team scoring twice on a wild pitch in the fifth. The visitors needed just six more outs!
John Lester, pitching a great game for Chicago, then got the first two men out in the bottom of the eighth, and just four more outs were needed. However, Jose Ramirez sent Lester to the showers with a single to left.
Aroldis Chapman came in to pitch for the third straight game. Brandon Guyner greeted him with a double on a 3-2 pitch, scoring Ramirez and cutting it to 6-4. When Rajai Davis deposited Chapman's 2-2 into the left field stands, it was all tied, 6-6. Chapman gave up still another hit before getting out of that inning.
The Cubs tried to retake the lead the next inning, getting a man to third with less than two outs. But Bryan Shaw extricated the Indians from that problem. Chapman had an easy 1-2-3 ninth to send it to extras.
And get this: Chicago scored twice in the top of the 10th off Shaw to make it 8-6! They had a chance for more, as the bases were loaded and there was one out. Trevor Bauer relived Shaw and got the next two batters out without any further damage.
So it was up to Carl Edwards to close this one out. He blew strike three past Matt Napoli for the first out. Ramirez grounded out. At last! The moment had come for Chicago!
Or had it?
Edwards walked Brandon Guyer, getting just one strike. Rajau Davis was back up, again representing the tying run. Guyer took second on defensive indifference, the pitch being ball one. Davis wasted no time in adding to his heroics of the night, singling to centre on the next pitch. Guyer, off with the crack of the bat, motored on home, 8-7. The Cleveland team was just not going away!
But just when it appeared this one might never end, Mike Montgomery came in to pitch. The tying run was at first. Mike had 100 innings pitched to his name that season, but this was gonna be his most memorable moment in baseball, one way or another.
The batter was Michael Martinez.
Montgomery got a called strike. On the next pitch, Martinez grounded to short! The game and the Fall Classic were over! Chicago had an 8-7, extra-inning win in game seven on the road. The first team to do that.
The long wait was over in Cubbie Land. Chicago had kept at it, not letting themselves get discouraged at Cleveland's comebacks. And they were rewarded for their patience. 7 games, 10 innings, and 108 years were over with that last grounder!
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.
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