Four things the Indians must do to avoid Game 7

It may not have exactly been the impossible, but the Cleveland Indians certainly did the improbable by going into Wrigley Field and emerging with the World Series in control still. But Tribe did just that in taking two out of three games during the National League hosted portion of the Fall Classic, and now they have decisive control in the series headed into a series that is decisively in their favor headed into Tuesday’s Game 6.

But with the specter of constant elimination hanging like a noose solely over the Cubs' collective heads for at least one game, Cleveland cannot let up on the gas now. So what does Terry Francona's team have to do in order to complete the job, avoid falling into a Game 7 situation and bring home the World Series title for the first time in two generations? 

History will be made and demons will be exorcised for one franchise or the other this week. Here are the keys for how Cleveland can make its date with destiny come true first.

Overcoming Arrieta

They have been relentless at the plate and have pitched excellently throughout, but in order to finish their affairs, they will have to overcome a foe they could not figure out earlier in this series: Jake Arrieta. Arrieta's up and down postseason trended upwards again in his Game 2 victory at Progressive Field last week, as he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Ultimately, he only allowed a single run over 5.2 innings in a frigid affair that evened out the series before it tilted back to Wrigley.

Arrieta will now pitch the first game in Cleveland since that 5-1 victory last Wednesday. If the Indians are to overcome Arrieta this time, patience at the plate will have to be their virtue. Arrieta had struggled with both his endurance and control in throughout the playoffs, so if they can get after him early on they will have a chance to get into a Chicago bullpen that has been inconsistent, at best, as soon as possible. With the fact that Aroldis Chapman may or may not be at full capacity after pitching the final 2.2 innings of Game 5 so the Cubs could stay alive, the Indians would be best served to make their impact as soon as possible, but to do so with a measured approach.

Luckily enough, this has not been an issue for Cleveland, who has put runs on the scoreboard first in three out of five games thus far.

Tomlin must continue to mystify

While Corey Kluber has been the star on the mound for the Indians thus far in the series, no Cleveland pitcher came up bigger than Josh Tomlin did in Game 3. He shut the Chicago offense down over 4.2 innings, allowing two hits before ceding to Andrew Miller, who ultimately was credited with the victory.

But more importantly than being the pitcher of record, Tomlin put the Cubs bats in a sleeper hold and took a crazed Wrigley Field crowd out of the biggest game to be played in over seven decades at Wrigley Field. The ever-steady, soft-tossing righty will need to bring that same presence back to the mound on Tuesday night, as he will make his second start of the series on three day's rest. However, he was pulled from Game 3 early in design for him to have as much available as he could in the event he would be needed for this start, so it will be likely that he will be allowed to throw more than the 58 pitches he did on Friday night. If his curveball remains sharp and he continues to perform at the level that has seen him work to a 1.76 postseason ERA, he should be more than good enough to get the game into the hands of the potent Indians bullpen.

Hand the bullpen a lead

Speaking of the Indians' late inning collective, they have been as excellent as advertised in the World Series thus far. They have allowed three earned runs over 19.1 innings in the series and have yet to surrender a lead in the postseason this year. If the Indians can get runs early and Tomlin can keep the Cubs' bats on unsteady footing again, it would be an upset at this point if the Cleveland pen gave the game up.

This means that multiple innings of Andrew Miller are all but guaranteed, and save for the solo home run he allowed in Game 4, Miller has been every bit as dominant of factor as he was when he won Most Valuable Player honors in AL Championship Series.

Outside of Miller, the other two heads of the Cleveland late-inning hydra, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen, have been just as dominant. But with the season on the line, it should also be expected that Danny Salazar could be called on early as well if Tomlin gets in trouble, adding yet another hard-throwing, multi inning threat to the Indian arsenal. All hands on deck means no shortage of tough presences coming out of the Indians' full staff offering.

Hope Schwarber has cooled down

Outside of what the Indians must do internally, they also must hope that three games of infrequent action slowed down the roll that Kyle Schwarber was on when the series was last in Cleveland. The return to the American League brings back Schwarber's chance to have multiple cracks at making an impact as designated hitter. Schwarber's assault on Indians pitching in Game 2 was a major reason for them prevailing, as he went 2-for-4, while driving in two runs and walking once.

Getting outs in front of Schwarber and approaching him carefully at the plate as well could minimize the damage potential from him if he is still locked into the zone he returned from his seven month DL stint on. Actually, maybe prayer would do as much good as hope here.