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          SweetSpot

          What we learned: Corey Kluber is too good

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          Santana impressed with Kluber's resilience (1:24)

          Cleveland Indian's third baseman Carlos Santana is proud that pitcher Corey Kluber bounced back from the Cubs' early run. (1:24)

          • David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior WriterOct 30, 2016, 04:56 AM
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            • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
            • Former deputy editor of Page 2
            • Been with ESPN.com since 1995
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          The Cleveland Indians have allowed 22 runs in 12 playoff games. On a related note, the Indians took a three games to one lead in the World Series after beating the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Saturday at Wrigley Field.

          1. Hey, the Cubs scored a run off Corey Kluber! For a few minutes, there was joy in Wrigleyville, and there were even thoughts that maybe the Cleveland ace wasn't going to be sharp pitching on three days' rest. Dexter Fowler blooped a double to left field which Rajai Davis couldn't quite snag to lead off the bottom of the first, and with one out Anthony Rizzo dropped a soft line drive into center to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. It was the first run Kluber had allowed in the first inning in 13 starts. But that would be it; Kluber took over, and it's time to start thinking about his postseason run in the same historic terms as Orel Hershiser in 1988 or Madison Bumgarner in 2014. He'd give up just three more hits over the next five innings, and his record in five postseason starts: 4-1, 0.89 ERA, three runs in 30 1/3 innings, 35 strikeouts, one home run allowed, one month of dominance, one win away.

          The last chance the Cubs had against him came in the third, Ben Zobrist batting with two on and two outs, the score 3-1 at the time. Zobrist battled for eight pitches and fouled off five in a row, but Kluber got him swinging on a sharp breaking ball. Kluber was at 54 pitches through three innings, so there was at least hope the Cubs would run up his pitch count and perhaps knock him out after five innings, mindful that Terry Francona wants to keep Kluber as fresh as possible for a potential Game 7 start. Knock him out after five and you also likely force Francona to use a third reliever besides Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Instead, Kluber threw just 12 pitches in the fourth, blazed through a six-pitch fifth, and breezed through a nine-pitch sixth, finishing with just 81 pitches.

          At one point in the fifth and sixth innings, the Cubs swung at 10 pitches in a row, deviating from the patient approach that worked for them all season. Willson Contreras saw 12 pitches from Kluber and struck out all three times, going down twice on three pitches. Maybe it was some of the young Cubs being too aggressive or pressing a bit, but it seemed a deliberate change in approach. Consider this: In Game 1, the Cubs swung 40 percent of the time, the second-lowest swing rate against Kluber all season; in this game, they swung 59 percent of the time, the second-highest swing rate against him. Because of that, Kluber ended up with a strike rate of 71.6 percent -- his best since June. Kluber is too good and too smart and too hot to fall prey to the Cubs simply deciding to swing more often.

          2. Everything Francona does continues to work. In Game 3, he took a chance and started Carlos Santana in left field for the first time all season. Santana got three plate appearances and just one routine fly ball hit his way. In Game 4, Francona declined to double down and started Santana at first base, benching Mike Napoli. That made sense -- getting another lefty in the lineup against John Lackey. Sure enough, Santana crushed a game-tying home run in the second inning and lined a 111.5 mph rocket -- his hardest-hit ball all season -- which knocked the glove off Mike Montgomery's hand and contributed another run in the sixth.

          With Jon Lester on the mound in Game 5, I assume Napoli will be back in there at first base. Will Santana be back out in left field, or will Francona go with his best defensive team behind his weakest starter in Trevor Bauer?

          One more Francona: Should he have used Miller for two innings with a six-run lead? I didn't have a big issue with that. He had already warmed up as the Indians scored three runs in the sixth, so you may as well bring him in. He threw just seven pitches in the seventh, and maybe Francona should have removed him then. At the same time, you don't want to fool around; put the hammer down. Francona has made it clear: Win tonight, worry about tomorrow in the morning. Miller did end up throwing 20 pitches in the eighth -- and gave up his first run of the postseason when Dexter Fowler homered -- and has now thrown 44 pitches over Games 3 and 4. I don't think that changes the bottom line in Game 5, however: If the Indians have a lead, you'll still see Miller.

          3. Joe Maddon had a bad game. Aside from Kluber's dominance, the Cubs stunk up Wrigley like it was April of 1983 or something. In the second inning, after Santana had blasted his home run, Kris Bryant made two throwing errors, leading to a second run. The most perplexing decision in that rally was Maddon intentionally walking No. 8 hitter Tyler Naquin with two outs so that he could pitch to Kluber. That's a 1970s or 1980s move, but not so much a 2016 kind of move, and it's certainly not a typical Maddon move. He issued just 24 intentional walks all season and just five to the No. 8 hitter. Four of those came late in the game when the Cubs were trailing. The only somewhat similar walk he issued all year was to Adeiny Hechavarria of the Marlins, with runners on second and third in the second inning with two outs and the Cubs up 2-0.

          I see wanting to get the pitcher up there with a runner in scoring position, but Naquin has struggled to make contact all postseason, and it's beneficial to have the pitcher leading off the next inning. But mostly: Why do something you haven't done all year? Yes, there was some bad luck when Kluber hit a little trickler down the third-base line on which Bryant made an ill-advised wide throw to first base, allowing the go-ahead run to score. And, yes, you have to manage differently in the postseason -- like with relief pitchers -- but issuing intentional walks at times you haven't done all year seems indicative of a manager pressing a little too much (I mean, if you don't trust Lackey to get Tyler Naquin ...).

          Oh, sure enough, with Jason Kipnis leading off the third, the Indians scored that inning as well.

          Maddon's pinch-running decisions in Game 3 were a little strange as well. Jason Heyward running for Jorge Soler at third base with two outs in the seventh meant Heyward was unavailable to run for Rizzo in the ninth, which meant Heyward had to hit and that Chris Coghlan was unavailable to pinch hit for Javier Baez. And Maddon still seems a little unsure how to maneuver his bullpen. He declined to use Aroldis Chapman to get out of any jams in Game 4, which didn't go over well on armchair Twitter. Will he wait and save Chapman only for a save situation in Game 5 or use him earlier given the dire straits the Cubs are now in?

          4. Hometown kid does good. Not only did Kipnis lead off the third with a double and score on Francisco Lindor's single, but he'd put the game away with a three-run homer in the seventh.

          5. It ain't over 'til it's over. It may look bad for the Cubs, but they do have the clear starting pitcher advantage in Game 5.

          Also, five teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series:

          1925 -- Pirates over Senators

          1958 -- Yankees over Braves

          1968 -- Tigers over Cardinals

          1979 -- Pirates over Orioles

          1985 -- Royals over Cardinals