Cleveland Indians’ Francisco Lindor and Rajai Davis celebrate after Game 1 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the Chicago Cubs Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, in Cleveland. The Indians won 6-0 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Corey Kluber pitched neatly into the seventh inning, Roberto Perez hit two home runs and the Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0 Tuesday night in the World Series opener.
In a matchup between the teams with baseball’s longest championship droughts, the Indians scored twice in the first inning off October ace Jon Lester and were on their way.
With the score 3-0, AL Championship Series MVP Andrew Miller escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh and got out of trouble in the eighth.
Perez drove in four runs from the No. 9 spot and Francisco Lindor got three hits.
The Game 1 winner has taken the title in the last six Series and 17 of 19.
Trevor Bauer, trying to come back from a sliced pinkie, starts Game 2 for the Indians on Wednesday night against Jake Arrieta. With rain in the forecast, the start time has been moved up an hour to 7:08 p.m.
