Cubs end 108-year drought to win World Series

Cleveland+Indians+fans+react+as+the+Chicago+Cubs+pull+ahead+in+the+10th+inning+before+winning+Game+7+of+the+World+Series+at+Progressive+Field+in+Cleveland%2C+Ohio%2C+just+after+midnight+on+Thursday%2C+Nov.+3%2C+2016.

Cleveland Indians fans react as the Chicago Cubs pull ahead in the 10th inning before winning Game 7 of the World Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, just after midnight on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016.

Henry Palattella

The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs came into this year’s World Series having combined for 176 years of championship futility. It sure didn’t look like it in Game 7, though, when The Indians’ Rajai Davis tied the game in the eighth inning with a two-out, two-run home run to tie the game at six.

Neither team could score in the ninth inning, which led to extra innings. But then the rain came.

Both teams had to sit through a 30-minute rain delay before the start of extras, which sucked all of the energy out of progressive field of an electric Progressive Field.

The Cubs took advantage of this, as they scored two runs in the top of the tenth.

The Indians managed to score one in the bottom of the tenth, but Mike Montgomery got Micheal Martinez to ground out for the final out, an out that ended 108 years of pain for the boys from the north side.

The Cubs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Dexter Fowler led the game off with a home run, but the lead was short lived, as the Indians responded when Carlos Santana hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.  

The Cubs jumped in front again when they played two runs in the fourth inning, and then Javier Baez chased Indians starter Corey Kluber when he led off the fifth inning with a solo home run. The Cubs scored one more run that inning, and they quickly had a 5-1 lead.

But the Indians again showed their resilience when they scored two runs on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-3.

The Cubs continued to hassle the Indians with response runs when David Ross led the sixth inning off with a home run to make the lead 6-3.

The Indians next scored in the bottom of the eighth when Brandon Guyer plated Jose Ramirez to make it 6-4 and set Davis up.

Henry Palattella is a sports reporter, contact him at [email protected].