CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOWO): For the first time since 1908, the Chicago Cubs are the champions of Major League Baseball.
The Cubs won a thrilling Game 7 of the World Series in dramatic fashion early Thursday morning, beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7. The Cubs had clawed their way back from a 3-1 series deficit to tie, then win, the best-of-seven series in front of thousands at Progressive Field.
The Cubs led 5-1 at one point, before the Indians had a very productive fifth inning, eventually shutting down a big scoring opportunity for the Cubs in the top of the ninth. The Cubs responded by scoring two runs in the top of the tenth inning, sparked by a double by Ben Zobrist.
Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. handled the first two Cleveland batters in the bottom of the 10th, then walked Brandon Guyer, who scored on a single by Rajai Davis.
Pitcher Mike Montgomery then stepped in for Edwards, forcing Michael Martinez to ground out.
The last time the Chicago Cubs won the World Series was in 1908. The last time they had even appeared in the Series was in 1945, in a losing effort against the Detroit Tigers.
That Series also had the distinction of being the beginning of the so-called “Curse of the Billy Goat,” which was allegedly placed on the team by a fan who had brought a goat to game 4 of the World Series in Chicago and was asked to leave. The team’s lack of postseason success since then led to a string of bizarre attempts to break the curse.
