Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Cubs Pushed To The World Series Brink After Crushing Loss To Cleveland

By  Ariel Cheung and Evan F.  Moore | October 29, 2016 6:45pm | Updated on October 30, 2016 6:46am

WRIGLEYVILLE — The Cubs must win three straight games to win their first World Series since 1908 after a crushing 7-2 loss to Cleveland in Game 4 on Saturday night at Wrigley Field.

The Indians lead the World Series three games to one, and they can clinch their first championship since 1948 on Sunday night at the Friendly Confines.

Many Cubs fans, likely at their first World Series game at Wrigley ever, could even be seeing leaving the park in the seventh and eighth innings.

A “crazy” fan of both the Cubs and the Bulls, Fabiola Flores spent her night off Thursday making a sign matching the Wrigley Field marquee. She joined friends and her boyfriend, a lifelong Cubs fan, at Old Crow Smokehouse on Thursday.

The group showed up at 9 a.m., worried that long lines would prevent them from celebrating with fellow fans, but they waited a mere five minutes before getting let in.

“I honestly feel like they have a chance still,” Fabiola said at the bottom of the fifth inning. “They’re great players, and right now it’s hit-or-miss, 50/50.”

But as things started to look bad for Cub fans as the Indians knocked out two home runs, and Fabiola was “obviously nervous.”Even if the Cubs fall short of a World Series championship, Fabiola said she’ll still be proud of the team.

“This is a step up, and I feel for them,” she said. “They’ll get it next year.”

And, she added, the decades-old rallying cry is no longer just a saying — with a team like this, it’s a definite possibility.

Despite waiting his entire life to see the Cubs in the World Series, Rich Lynema, 57, said he has no intention of abandoning his team.

“I’ve always been a fan,” he said. “And I’m always going to be one.”Lynema and his family came from Holland, Michigan, to watch the game in Wrigleyville on Saturday. They returned to Old Crow after watching a game there during the regular season, and “everyone wanted to come back,” said wife Pam Lynema.

And while Wrigleyville is an “exciting” place to be during the World Series weekend, “we need to score some runs, big time,” Rich Lynema said. The team still has a chance, he insisted, but “they’ve got to get the bats alive."

While Friday's game left 30-year-old fan Mike Martella "heartbroken," he still sees victory ahead for the Cubs.

He and a friend picked up half-off Halloween costumes a few hours before Saturday's game, which they got into thanks to Martella's dad, a longtime season ticket holder.

Donning an ab-tastic Rocky Balboa suit and a Cubs hat, Martella also carried with him a sign: "I didn't hear no bell, Cleveland."

RELATED:

Wrigley Is Wired As Cubs Fans Flood In For World Series

• 'See Ya, 71': Eamus Catuli Sign Gets Pennant Update By Wrigley World Series

When Will The EAMUS CATULI Sign Outside Wrigley Field Change?

Paying Your Respects To 'Mr. Cub' Ernie Banks? Here's Where He's Buried

Cubs Won't Offer Aldermen World Series Tickets ... And They're Furious

Cubs Fans All Over The World Celebrate Trip To World Series

Cubs Win National League Title, And Wrigleyville Goes Crazy (PHOTOS)

5 Signs Those Cubs Postseason Tickets Are Probably Fakes

$113 For An Air Mattress? Wrigleyville Airbnb Is Red Hot For Cubs Playoffs

Video Shows All 7 Games From 1945 World Series, The Last In Cubs History (Until Now)

The Cubs and Wrigley Field are 95 percent owned by an entity controlled by a trust established for the benefit of the family of Joe Ricketts, owner and CEO of DNAinfo.com. Joe Ricketts has no direct involvement in the management of the iconic team.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.