CLE 6, CHC 0

...Huh.

As I've said before, I don't know how much stock to put in foolishness like "mo," or "the zone," or "clutchiness." It's like ghosts; I believe in them, while freely admitting that I can't prove their existence.

With all of that said, while I wouldn't put too much stock in relative amounts of time off before the Classic, or in home-field advantage, and while I did expect the...Clevelanders (I can't with the name anymore, and especially Wahoo, so if nobody minds, I think I'll go back to calling them the Naps around here) to win Game 1, I expected more of a head-to-head pitchers' duel. Lester gutted it out out there, but it felt to me like he knew somebody was going gopher on him eventually; Kluber never thought that would happen. Sometimes that's the difference.

(I don't think it was the throwing-to-first thing no matter how much the booth snarked on it. If Joe Maddon thought it mattered he'd have fixed it.)

Points, and it's a grim one:

Baez -1
Bryant -1
Rizzo -1
Russell -4
Zobrist 4

Lester 9.67

***

Napoli -1

Kluber 15

Standings after the jump!


Simone 159
Williams 151
Yuhan 2 130.01

Bingham 2 129
MacEachern 127.34
Arbour 124
Stempel 123.67

Shee/Bell 115.67
Reid Love, Drake 107
Johnson 1 105
Yuhan 1 104

Cameron 1 97
Shotwell 96.67
Bauer 1 90

Ekard 80.33

Bauer 2 64.33

don't call it a comeback, Bunting 1's been here for oh forget it

---

The money's a little weird at the moment; Simone and Williams have identical slates and Yuhan 2 has no picks left. Arbour and Shee/Bell have all their picks left, and with Zobrist the only Cubbeenie putting up any hitting points, the leaders better look over their shoulders.

Tonight's match-up starts early due to incoming weather: 7 PM ET start time, Arrieta and Drone Boy on the mound. Good luck, everyone!