Cubs Within 1 Win of World Series Title After Beating Indians in Game 6

CLEVELAND, OH - The Chicago Cubs are one win away from ending the most epic drought in the history of sports. With a 9-3 win over the Cleveland Indians in Game 6 of the World Series Tuesday night, the Cubs have tied the best-of-seven series at 3-3 and will play for the team's first world championship in 108 years Wednesday night.

The Cubs got on the board early when Kris Bryant hit a solo home run to center in the top of the first inning. An Indians error helped Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist cross the plate as well, giving Chicago a 3-0 lead before Cleveland came to bat. Addison Russell hit a grand slam to push the lead to 7-0 in the top of the third. Russell totaled six RBI in the win.

The Cubs haven't come within one game of a championship since 1945, when they lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Detroit Tigers. That year, the team won 98 games in the regular season. This year, they won 103.

Chicago Cubs 9, Cleveland Indians 3

Series tied 3-3

W: Jake Arrieta; L: Josh Tomlin

Memorable Moment: Addison Russell hit a grand slam in the top of the third inning to boost the Cubs' lead from 3-0 to 7-0.

Moment to Forget: The only time fans may have been a bit nervous in Game 6 was in the bottom of the fifth when the Indians loaded the bases on Arrieta. Down 7-1, a grand slam at that point could have cut the Cubs lead to 7-5 with plenty of baseball to play. But Arrieta got out of the jam, and Cleveland left the bags loaded.

Wins Needed to Break the Curse: 1

Next Game: Cubs at Indians, 7:08 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2

More Cubs Coverage on Patch:

The Players and Teams

• Cubs' Javier Baez Could be Honored With a Chicago Street Sign
• Sorry, Chicago, Cubs Won't Host Wrigley Field Watch Parties for Final World Series Games
• Watch Jon Lester Give a Young Cubs Fan His Cleat — and a Thrill — After Game 5 of World Series
• Eddie Vedder Dedicates Cubs' 7th Inning Stretch to Catcher David Ross
• Listen to Waveland Avenue Crowd Sing With Bill Murray During the 7th Inning Stretch
• Are Cubs Fans Schwarber-reacting to Slugger's World Series Play? You Bet
• Cubs vs. Indians: Who's Cursed Worse?
• Indians' Jason Kipnis Grew Up in Northbrook as a Cubs Fan

The Fans

• Taco Bell Offers Free Tacos (Yay!) Thanks to an Indians' Stolen Base (Boo!)
• Oops! Cubs Fans Cheer for the Wrong Team Leaving Wrigley Field
• Palatine Dad Surprised With Cubs World Series Tickets in Son's Feel-Good Film
• Fans High 5 Cops After Cubs' Win, Capping Wrigleyville's World Series Weekend
• Joliet Reverend Offers Spiritual Guidance to Cubs as Chaplain
• Holy Cow! Cubs Caskets and Urns Sales Show Life Thanks to World Series Run
• Joliet Family Names Baby After Wrigley Field Streets
• Oswego Homeowner Paints 2 Cubs Logos on Lawn
• Cub Fan From Northbrook Was Born in 1908
• Local Hero Paints Giant 'W' on Sister-In-Law's Oswego Lawn
• Hey, Shepard Students, What Do You Say? Mentor Program Creates Video to Cheer on Cubs
• Huge Cubs Logo Painted on Highland Park Man's Front Yard
• Grow Cubs, Grow! Manhattan Woman Paints Love for Team on Lawn
• Cubs Memories: Hitchhiking to the Game and Throwing Out the 1st Pitch at Wrigley Field
• High School Student's 1993 Yearbook Prediction: Cubs Win World Series in 2016
• Longtime Cubs Fan Buried With Ticket From Historic NLCS Clincher

Photo by Rick Uldricks / Patch