CLEVELAND -- Progressive Field came blazing to life during the first inning of World Series Game 1 on Tuesday, when the Indians took advantage of Jon Lester's shakiness to take an early lead over the Cubs en route to a 6-0 victory.
After Corey Kluber set the Cubs down in order in the top of the first inning, the Indians began the bottom half in benign fashion with two quick outs. But Francisco Lindor followed with a single, dancing off first base and ultimately stealing second against Lester, whose troubles containing the run game are well-documented. Lindor's theft won fans free tacos thanks to the "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco presented by Taco Bell" promotion.
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Lindor had a secondary lead of 25.3 feet on his stolen base, according to Statcast™, which is comfortably more than the average of 23.1 feet on successful steals against left-handed pitchers this year.
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The theft also poured gasoline on Cleveland's rally. Lester walked the next two batters, then gave up an RBI dribbler to Jose Ramirez. With the bases still loaded, Lester hit Brandon Guyer with a pitch to force in a second run, before getting Lonnie Chisenhall to pop up, stranding three baserunners.
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Guyer led the Majors with 31 HBPs in 2016, which is seven more than any other player (Derek Dietrich, 24).
The early lead offered plenty of promise for the Indians, who entered the night 6-0 when scoring first this postseason. Lindor singled in the third but was caught trying to steal second, then he added a two-out double in the seventh for his third hit of the game.