CHICAGO: They are facing some of the hottest-hitting teams in baseball.
They were supposed to be afterthoughts against all three.
But the Cleveland Indians continued to prove Friday night that their pitching staff has been vastly underrated.
With the wind blowing out and the crowd energized by the first World Series game in Wrigley Field in 71 years, the Indians held off the Cubs 1-0 and set a record with their fifth postseason shutout.
Starter Josh Tomlin and relievers Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen held the Cubs to five hits as the Tribe took a 2-1 series lead going into Game 4 Saturday night.
It marked the second shutout in three games as the Indians claimed a 6-0 victory in Game 1.
Asked what the record reflects about his team, Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said, "It says they're going to step up in the big situation. They're focused on the next pitch. It's hard to do that for a whole season. Things are going to happen. In the postseason you have to do it to win and that's what they've been doing."
Indians pitchers have held their opponent scoreless in every phase of the playoffs. The Tribe beat the Red Sox 6-0 in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. It blanked the Blue Jays 2-0 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series and 3-0 in Game 5.
"It's unbelievable. I didn't know we've had that many," Shaw said. "I know we've pitched well as a team. It's definitely a lot of fun, it's definitely exciting. Hopefully we can do it two more times."
Cubs manager Joe Maddon said the score reflected "the quality of the pitching," but he also lamented that his players did not stay within their strike zones.
Perhaps it's that simple. But Maddon may be downplaying the talents of the pitchers the Cubs are facing.
Asked what he likes about Allen, who recorded a four-out save, Miller said, "His tenacity, his aggressiveness. He's got two really good pitches and he knows how to use them. He works really hard. There's not many guys that have a riding fastball and a knockout curveball.
"The results have shown. We certainly feel some momentum that we're trying to keep going and he's built on that."
Miller said Tomlin, who threw only 58 pitches, was "awesome" and set the tone while pitching in front of his father, recovering from life-threatening surgery.
"What a game for him," Miller said. "For him to handle those emotions and pitch so well is a phenomenal job."
Shaw said when Miller comes in, the Indians bullpen keeps an eye on his strikes-to-nine innings ratio.
"We sit down in the 'pen and joke about he's got 15.6 or whatever it is Ks per nine," Shaw said. "When it's not a strikeout, we make fun of him because it goes down. Then he comes out the next inning and punches out three and goes over 16. We feed off each one of us down there."
The Cubs were shut out in back-to-back games in the NLCS, with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning Games 2 and 3 1-0 and 6-0, respectively. But Miller, a left-hander, said he didn't study those games extensively.
"I'm sure our scouts, I'm sure Mickey Callaway watched a bunch of it, I'm sure our catchers probably watched a bunch of it," Miller said. "Personally I watched a little bit. I watched more left-handed pitchers against their batters.
"The most meaningful games of our lives are going on right now. Preparation's any easy thing to have."
Miller said the fact that the Cubs hadn't played a World Series game at home since 1945 made what Allen and Shaw did even more impressive.
"Pitching a one-run game in Wrigley Field with this atmosphere is a pretty incredible thing to do, the way they went out and slammed the door in a sense," Miller said. "They both have incredible stuff. It's impossible not to watch them throw the ball and appreciate what they can do with it."
But he cautioned that the Indians have a long way to go and can't take their foot off the gas pedal. He also doesn't seem obsessed over whether there are more shutouts in the Tribe's future.
"It doesn't matter how you win it," Miller said. "If we won 20-19 we'd be just as excited. It's about finding ways to win and getting closer to the championship."