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cubs may be in some trouble

Arrieta gives up a bomb. down 3-0

They really got lucky in game 1 with that grand slam. It was a risky move by the Dodgers and it blew up in their face, but that's been the lone bright spot for the Cubs so far. They look like the Blue Jays right now, at least before today, squeezing the bats too tight.

Or it could be that the three pitchers they have faced are three of the best in the league (Kershaw, Jansen, and Hill).

Oh, you're not wrong. That's part of it. However, the Cubs offense was great this past season and they're the obvious favorites. They had 2 hits in the Kershaw game and 2 hits after 6 innings tonight, that offense should be a lot better than this, even against this pitching. I think the pressure of being the Cubs is getting to them again.

No one hits those guys.

Nobody hits Arrieta either, but the Dodgers are tonight.

Oddly enough, Jake's last start in LA was a no-hitter last year.

Arrieta was much worse than both Kershaw and Hill this year.

Either way, I expect the Cubs to bounce back. They were the best team all year.

Indians/Dodgers perhaps. Cubs have looked very bad at the plate against LA's guys ... and they'll have to see all of them again

Ryan Merritt starting this afternoon.

YIKES!!!

Hey, Merritt is 24-years old.

Bob Feller pitched his first Major League game at 17-years old.

Feller was on the cover of TIME magazine at 18-years old.

By 24, Feller was a grizzled veteran.

Hopefully Merritt will pitch a good game today.

Merritt should have pitched last night .. Love Tito to death ,but sometimes he makes me scratch my head : Like pitch hitting Davis ????

The real problem is that Bauer got hurt; the Indians have 2 of their starting 5 intact. By pitching Kluber last night he averted the possibility of the series getting to Game 7, and us not having a starter to use. Now we at least have Kluber for that eventuality, although it will be on short rest again.

It doesn't bother me that we lost but I still think it was a mistake to burn Kluber in a game you were probably going to lose anyway. I'm not going to get on Tito, he has been masterful the entire playoffs but that one, I disagree with.

The only good thing is he maximized the amount of starts they'd get out of Kluber. He thought starting him 3 times on short rest gave them a better shot than starting him 2 on full rest.

Can someone educate me as to why Santana is the lead-off hitter? He looks like anything but a lead-off hitter. His swing is huge. He looks like number 5 hitter to me.

He's the one guy who is working my nerves in the playoffs.

He has the highest OBP (.366) of all the regulars, due to walking 99 times this year. Plus, it gives him one less opportunity to ground into a 4-6-3 double play when he leads off, LOL.

Thanks. Good stat.

yeah he and kipnis are right up at the top of the league in doing that, the team as a whole is pretty bad offensively. I really hope they go on a hot streak, 1 and 2 runs will not win you many games, especially against the NL teams

I get that and that would have been my strategy going in as well.. but once we got up 3-0, I would have changed my thinking.

Like I said worse case is we use Klubber plus all hand on deck if there is a game 7, I think Jays will win today and we will clinch at home, pressure is all on Jays not us , we are not suppose to be here anyway.

You've all missed one of the important strategies of the game yesterday.

Neither Miller or Allen pitched.

I'll say it's more than a 50% chance the Indians have a lead after 6 innings in the next three games (if needed).

If they do, I think you know what will happen next.

Right, I'm with you DC. Pitching Kluber on 3 days rest is a bit of a desperation move. Something you might do if you're down 1-2 or maaaaybe 2-1. It's like you're putting your best guy out there at 80% instead of 100%, because you desperately need something.

If we would of just conceded a loss yesterday (heck, maybe we would of won it anyway?), then we get Kluber on full rest today, and a much better chance to put things away. Instead, we get a loss and we have to go with who should of pitched yesterday, which ... is like conceding a loss. If things don't go well in Game 6, then we've got Kluber on 3 days rest yet again, and all the pressure to not choke away a 3-0 lead in a Game 7.

I may get blasted for saying this but once we got up 3-0, I would have been pitching to set up for the WS.. my concern at that moment would have been, how can I set this up to have Kluber 3 times in the WS if needed.. not how can I plan to have him pitch twice more in this series with once being the 7th game, meaning he isn't going to pitch again until at least game 2 or 3 of the WS..

I would have done, as you said, essentially conceded last nights game and played today like it was game 7, going with Kluber and having the entire bullpen ready to go. Who knows, maybe last night we hit well and have a lead in the 6th and I change my mind.. but I would not have started last night like we needed to win.

I would love to see the Cubs go down 3 to 1, that fan base would jumping from the ledge, Don't forget Salazar would likely be put on WS roster and come out of pen

Its a matter of time before the Jays start bashing, the problem is we have been in a hitting slump since the start of the playoffs, half the order is an auto out ( Perez, Naquin, Raj, Jose.

Pitching Kluber yesterday allows Tito to bring him back for a game 7 on short rest, if necessary.

I think it was a necessary evil to pitch him yesterday. Had he given Kluber an extra days rest and he loses, you'd be stuck with a Merritt or a bullpen game on game 7.

Hopefully, they close out the series today and we can celebrate.

Yeah, I think this is all right, even though it felt wrong at the time. #InTitoITrust

I still think too many of us keep forgetting Tomlin will show us a fresh arm...

Assuming we don't get a lead, we're keeping Allen and Miller in the pen so we can have them fully rested with Tomlin in Game 6. Right?

If that's the case, what happens if Merritt implodes early? Are we going to leave in him to take the lumps because we don't have the arms in the pen to eat 7 full innings?

It sure would be nice for our bats to show up early to ease Merritt and put the pressure on them.

well, let's hope

YES right on time

Yes!!

well, the kid got a few outs

I wish Merritt didn't look so scared and overwhelmed out there.

Kid looks like a 10 year veteran, and not a guy making his 1st start, in the potential close out game in the ALCS.

haha i know it, hopefully it lasts

Does any team in baseball complain about called strikes more than the Bluejays?!? It is so annoying - I would think that eventually umps would get sick of it and call anything close in favor of the pitcher (though the graphic of Bautista at bat a few days ago that was like 7 strikes) at some point.

I'm new to watching the Indians, but I really like him too.

P.S. HOME RUN!!!!