Cleveland Indians: Game 4 Needs to be Like Game 1

Corey Kluber gets the start tonight for the Cleveland Indians against the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the World Series.

The Cleveland Indians have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs tonight at Wrigley Field. And with Corey Kluber on the mound, a 3-1 lead seems likely. But this is the World Series, so anything can happen.

Kluber led the Indians to a 6-0 victory in Game 1, going six innings and allowing no runs on four hits, striking out nine batters. His stuff was so nasty, batters often failed to even make contact with any of his pitches.

His six innings of scoreless work allowed Andrew Miller and Cody Allen to come in and finish the job. The Kluber-Miller-Allen formula is what the team is ideally looking for tonight, although things may not be as easy as they were in Game 1.

The Cubs have now seen Kluber, and will be making adjustments after being shutout earlier this week. However, he will also be making adjustments, so a similar result could be in store for the Cubs.

But while the pitching will be the focus, the offense needs to step up like they did in Game 1. The Indians were able to score six runs, but have followed that up with two total runs in the past two games. Game 3 was a victory, but the team is playing with fire when the pitchers have no room to make any mistakes.

Mike Napoli finds himself out of the starting lineup after a rough start to the World Series, but he will certainly find himself pinch hitting later in the game. Hopefully it comes late in the game, meaning Kluber is shutting down the Cubs and able to stay in the game.

Scoring more runs would be great, but hey, if the Indians win by the score of 1-0 again tonight, it is hard to complain. The goal of any professional baseball team is to win a championship, so no matter how a team gets it done, wins are all that matter.

Next: Indians Winning With NL Style

A 2-1 lead may not be enough for the national media to respect the Indians, but the extra motivation will serve the team well in their effort to go up 3-1. And with the ace on the mound, the Cubs will surely be shaking in their boots.