Backs still to the wall after the Game 5 win, the Chicago offense finally showed some significant signs of life, torching Cleveland's Josh Tomlin and a few of the bullpen's mortals for nine runs, only one run fewer than the 10 total they scored over the first five games of the World Series. The game was never seriously in doubt after the third inning, with Cleveland's win expectancy never again reaching 10 percent.
In a game like this, you wouldn't think Aroldis Chapman would make an appearance with only one day of rest after throwing 42 pitches in Game 5. You -- and I -- thought wrong. Cubs manager Joe Maddon brought Chapman in with two on and two out in the seventh, with a five-run lead.
While I'm a fan of creative closer usage, a five-run lead is still a low-leverage situation, with a league-average pitcher on the mound, you'd expect a league-average team to win 97 percent of the time in the particular base/out/score at the time.