*Photo from the Chicago Sun Times*
The Cubs have gotten off to quite the start in 2020. Jason Heyward had 4 RBI, Jon Lester threw 6 dazzling innings, and the Chicago Cubs toppled the Cleveland Indians by a 7-1 score. The last time he faced the Indians was game 7 of the 2016 World Series, where Lester threw 3 scoreless innings in relief, a game the Cubs would win in 10 innings, ending their 108 year title drought.
Heyward started the scoring in the second inning when he hit an RBI single to center field to make it 1-0 Cubs. It stayed that way until the 6th inning, when Willson Contreras hit a sac fly, Ian Happ hit an RBI single, and Heyward belted a 3 run homer to make it 6-0 Cubs. The Indians got their only run in the bottom of the 6th on a Franmil Reyes RBI double to center field. In the 7th, Jason Kipnis scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-1 Cubs, which held.
Lester threw 6 innings, allowing one run on 3 hits and two walks, striking out 4 hitters. Lester said of his team's performance postgame that ''It's nice to see these guys show up with energy today, like I've said before, I think that's what Rossie kind of brings to these guys. It's that kind of accountability of, hey, maybe we get beat today, but we're going to have energy. We're going to be in every pitch, we're going to grind."
Adam Plutko started and took the loss for Cleveland, throwing 4 innings, allowing one run on 4 hits and one walk, striking out two. Plutko made a spot start for Mike Clevinger, who went on the restricted list along with RHP Zach Plesac after violating the team's COVID-19 guidelines. Plutko didn't mince words postgame, saying that ''They hurt us bad, they lied to us. They at here in front of you guys and publicly said things that they didn't follow through on. It's gonna be up to them. It really is. I'll let them sit here and tell you how they're gonna earn their trust back."
The Indians got manager Terry Francona back after missing a week of action due to a gastrointestinal issue. He underwent a procedure last week at the Cleveland clinic, and is optimistic he'll finish the season. Francona said that ''I can't promise this is going to go perfect, but I'm certainly going to give it the best shot I can.''
The series continues on Wednesday, where the Indians will look to bounce back when Carlos Carrasco takes the mound. The Cubs will look to keep the good times rolling when Kyle Hendricks takes the mound.
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