CHICAGO — One more win and baseball fans everywhere might finally believe in these Cleveland Indians.
That’s all it will take for Corey Kluber & Co. to clinch this World Series.
Kluber pitched six sparkling innings on short rest for his second victory this week and the Indians beat the Chicago Cubs 7-2 Saturday night, taking a 3-1 lead and nearing their first championship since 1948.
Jason Kipnis hit a three-run homer in his hometown and Carlos Santana connected for the first of his three hits as manager Terry Francona’s team won for the second straight day at Wrigley Field.
Trevor Bauer gets the ball Sunday night when the visiting Indians try for the franchise’s third World Series title against Jon Lester and the faltering Cubs.
“I think we like the position we’re in, but the task isn’t done yet,” Kluber said. “We still have one more game to win, and we’re going to show up tomorrow and play with the same sense of urgency we’ve played with until this point. We don’t want to let them build up any momentum and let them get back in the series.”
Still, not bad for a team that seemed like an underdog all year long.
The Indians topped the defending champion Royals and star-studded Tigers for the AL Central title, then came the postseason. No one thought they would beat Big Papi and Boston, outslug Toronto or ever end their drought before the charmed Cubs, who led the majors with 103 wins.
Well, look who is on the brink of hoisting the hardware.
“We’ve got one more to get and it’s probably going to be the hardest victory of the year, but this is a special night for me and this team to take the first two here,” said Kipnis, who grew up a Cubs fan on the north side of Chicago.
Kipnis had three hits and scored two runs as Cleveland moved to 10-2 in this postseason. Francisco Lindor contributed an RBI single, helping Francona improve to 11-1 in the World Series.
Clemson wins
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Dabo Swinney has mastered winning close games during his tenure at Clemson. Saturday’s victory over Florida State might be the sweetest of all.
The third-ranked Tigers rallied to beat the No. 12 Seminoles 37-34 and won for the first time in 10 years at Doak Campbell Stadium.
It is the fifth win by seven points or fewer this season for Clemson (8-0, 5-0 ACC) and gives it a 16-2 record in nine seasons under Swinney when winning by less than a touchdown.
“I’m glad to finally walk into this room and be happy. It’s been a long time coming,” Swinney said. “We had a couple of lulls, but when we needed to make plays we got them.”
The win extends Clemson’s regular season winning streak to 22 games and gives it consecutive victories over Florida State (5-3, 2-3) for the first time since winning three in a row from 2005-07.
The win also likely assures the Tigers of being in the top four when the first College Football Playoff rankings are released on Tuesday. Clemson is trying to make the playoff for the second straight season after losing to Alabama in last year’s national championship game.
For the second straight year, Deshaun Watson played a large role in the win as he had 430 yards of total offense.
The junior completed 27 of 43 passes for 378 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. His 34-yard pass to Jordan Leggett and 2-point conversion with 2:06 remaining gave Clemson the lead. Watson also had 52 yards rushing on 17 carries, and Leggett had 122 yards on five receptions.
NO. 2 MICHIGAN 32, MICHIGAN STATE 23
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Amara Darboh caught eight passes for a career-high 165 yards, and De’Veon Smith ran for two touchdowns to help No. 2 Michigan beat Michigan State 32-23 on Saturday.
NO. 4 WASHINGTON 31, NO. 17 UTAH 24
SALT LAKE CITY — Dante Pettis returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown with 3:25 left and Washington held off Utah 3to remain undefeated.
After Utah tied it at 24 with 9:07 left, Washington (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) pinned the Utes on their own 1 on quarterback Jake Browning’s pooch punt. The Utes (7-2, 4-2) went three-and-out and punted to Pettis, who ran parallel toward the far sideline, broke a tackle and outran everyone else.
Browning threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns, and Myles Gaskin ran for 151 and a touchdown.
Utah quarterback Troy Williams threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns, and Joe Williams continued his remarkable post-retirement career with 172 rushing yards and a touchdown.
NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 32, VIRGINIA 25
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Lamar Jackson floated a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Smith with 13 seconds left and Louisville survived a frenetic finish.
Jackson’s fourth touchdown pass kept the Cardinals (7-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) in the College Football Playoff picture, and couldn’t have hurt the Heisman Trophy frontrunner’s candidacy. Virginia (2-6, 1-3) scored with 1:57 remaining and used a 2-point conversion to take a 25-24 lead.
Jackson did not have one of his best days, getting sacked five times and turning the ball over twice, but on the final drive, he ran for 18 yards, hit Cole Hikutini in traffic for 5 yards on fourth-and-3 and ran twice more for 16 yards before hitting Smith in the end zone.
NO. 6 OHIO STATE 24, NORTHWESTERN 20
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Curtis Samuel had a 3-yard touchdown run with 9:43 left to give Ohio State the lead, and J.T. Barrett converted two key third downs on a game-sealing drive.
After being upset by Penn State last week, the Buckeyes struggled against another multi-touchdown underdog. The Buckeyes (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) punted on five straight drives in one stretch, but responded to Northwestern tying it at 17 with a touchdown drive, capped by Samuel.
TEXAS 35, NO. 8 BAYLOR 34
AUSTIN, Texas — Trent Domingue kicked a 39-yard field goal with 46 seconds left and Texas upset Baylor to hand the Bears their first loss.
For the second straight season, coach Charlie Strong and the Longhorns (4-4, 2-4 Big 12) beat Baylor (6-1, 3-1). This time Texas also dealt a blow to the Big 12’s hopes of putting a team in the College Football Playoff. Both of the conference’s remaining unbeaten teams lost Saturday, with No. 10 West Virginia going down at Oklahoma State.
NO. 9. TEXAS A&M 52, NEW MEXICO STATE 10
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Christian Kirk returned two punts for touchdowns and had a scoring catch for Texas A&M.
OKLAHOMA STATE 37, NO. 10 WEST VIRGINIA 20
STILLWATER, Okla. — Mason Rudolph threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score for Oklahoma State.
Rudolph completed 26 of 36 passes for 273 yards. James Washington had six catches for 117 yards, Chris Lacy caught two touchdown passes, and Jalen McCleskey matched a career high with 11 receptions for the Cowboys (6-2, 4-1 Big 12). It the 100th career victory for Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.
NO. 11 WISCONSIN 23, NO. 7 NEBRASKA 17, OT
MADISON, Wis. — Dare Ogunbowale scored on an 11-yard run in overtime, and Wisconsin held on to hand Nebraska its first loss of the season.
The Badgers (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) stopped Nebraska on fourth-and-8 from the 23 after defensive back D’Cota Dixon swatted away a pass to the end zone from Tommy Armstrong Jr. intended for Stanley Morgan Jr.
WYOMING 30, NO. 13 BOISE STATE 28
LARAMIE, Wyo. — Defensive tackle Chase Appleby sacked Brett Rypien and forced a fumble for a safety with 1:25 left to lift Wyoming past Boise State.
It was Wyoming’s first win over the Broncos in 11 games between the two teams. Thousands of fans swarmed the field and the Cowboys’ players as the final seconds ticked off.
NO. 14 FLORIDA 24, GEORGIA 10
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jordan Scarlett scored for the sixth consecutive game, Antonio Callaway had the first rushing touchdown of his career and Florida used a dominant defensive effort to beat Georgia.
Playing just their second game in four weeks, the Gators won their third straight in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” It was Florida’s 21st victory against the Bulldogs in the last 27 years.
NO. 15 AUBURN 40, MISSISSIPPI 29
OXFORD, Miss. — Kamryn Pettway ran for a career-high 236 yards and a touchdown, and Sean White passed for 247 yards for Auburn.
Ole Miss’ Chad Kelly threw for a school-record 465 yards, beating Archie Manning’s previous mark of 436 yards set in 1969. Kelly also threw three touchdown passes and one interception.
NO. 16 OKLAHOMA 56, KANSAS 3
NORMAN, Okla. — Baker Mayfield passed for 236 yards and four touchdowns and Oklahoma overcame a sluggish to take sole possession of first place in the Big 12.
Receiver Dede Westbrook extended his hot streak for the Sooners, scoring on a 71-yard punt return and a 41-yard catch as Oklahoma won its 13th straight Big 12 game.
SOUTH CAROLINA 24, NO. 18 TENNESSEE 21
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jake Bentley two touchdown passes, Rico Dowdle ran for 127 yards and another score, and South Carolina handed Tennessee its third straight loss.
The Gamecocks (4-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) had struggled on offense much of the season and were expected to be a comfortable bounce-back win for the powerhouse Vols (5-3, 2-3) after consecutive losses to No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 1 Alabama.
NO. 24 PENN STATE 62, PURDUE 24
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Saquon Barkley ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns, Trace McSorley threw three scoring passes, and Penn State had a 24-point third quarter.
