Four things the Cubs must do to force a Game 7

Since day one of spring training, this has been the year of the Chicago Cubs. They have been at the axis of the narrative of the MLB summer and consistently lived up to what could have been an unreachable billing. Yet despite it all, they have lived up to those substantial expectations to date and now are within range of obtaining the most elusive championship in major North American sports history.

However, for the first time all year, they are in realistic range of losing it all, as they will play the remainder of the year just nine innings away from losing it all. The Cubs are down 3 games to 2 in their World Series contest with the Cleveland Indians and will have to play with an urgency that has been foreign to them this year. If they are to complete their task, they will need to beat the Indians twice in as many days at Progressive Field after they managed to win only one of their home contests over the weekend at Wrigley Field.

But before they can worry about winning the entire series, they need to first live to fight another day past tonight. They need to solve the puzzle of Josh Tomlin and the formidable Cleveland bullpen, which combined to limit Chicago hitters to five hits in the course of a four-pitcher shutout on Friday night.

What can the Cubs do to avoid the same issues from earlier in the series from repeating themselves and force the series into a slightly more balanced Game 7 situation? Here are four keys to their survival in tonight’s matchup:

Be aggressive vs. Tomlin

Tomlin did a fantastic job of establishing himself early in the count and being efficient in his work rate in Game 3. In three of the five innings he started, he kept his pitch count in single digits and only twice faced more than the minimum in a given inning. This allowed him to easily flow against an aggressive Cubs lineup, which in turn produced nine ground outs out of 17 batters faced. Tomlin only had to issue 58 pitches as a whole to do that.

While he did a masterful job of keeping Chicago batters off-balance, in the end he is still doing so with a very hittable fastball that hovers in the 85-87 mph range. The Cubs have to be aggressive and square up against Tomlin, but most importantly, they have to get the ball into the air. When he has been at his most vulnerable, it has been when surrendering the long ball. Tomlin allowed 36 home runs on the season but has yet to surrender one in 15.1 postseason innings. The Cubs, in turn, have been one of the best home run hitting teams on the road this year, placing second in the NL with 109 away from home. They are more than capable of producing such power; they simply have to pick their spots and get their cuts in as soon as possible.

Arrieta needs to be sharp

While Jake Arrieta held Indians hitters hitless throughout much of his outing in Game 2, it was more due in part to a lack of discipline from his opponents as opposed to mastery on his part. Only 40 percent of his pitches found the strike zone, which indicates that he is still struggling with his command as he has for much of the postseason. Cleveland hitters will be less likely to hurry through at-bats in tonight’s conditions — which are set to be in the upper 60s — as they were in the 40s chill of last week.

The Indians are an aggressive team that has come out the gates hot in the early innings, scoring first in three of five games so far in the series and putting up three runs compared to the Cubs’ one in Game 4, in which they failed to score first. Joe Maddon will not be slow with the hook in such an important game, but it will make everything much easier and much more comfortable for the Cubs if Arrieta can channel some of his vintage precision in his final — and most important — outing of the year.

Newly formed murderers' row must deliver

Maddon is taking steps to shake things up with the Chicago offense as the series reaches a critical point. With Kyle Schwarber back in play with the designated hitter spot back in effect, he will now put his three most dangerous bats back-to-back-to-back. Schwarber will hit second, while Kris Bryant moves down to the three spot and Anthony Rizzo moves to cleanup.

This decision will get more at-bats for Schwarber while at the same time assuring that he will see quality pitches, as he is backed by Bryant, who will continue to be protected by Rizzo as he has for the majority of the year. The trigger effect of this decision also will help put Dexter Fowler in an even more potent position, as it will for Addison Russell hitting as the de facto second leadoff hitter in the ninth spot in the order.

It is an all-in approach that will leave the later portions of the lineup more exposed, but it certainly puts a load of consecutive pressure at the top of the Chicago order. Things could get hectic if the waves of momentum crash into the Indians' pitching from this realigned row.

Go back on the offensive

Sometimes the comforts of home are good, but in others they are not. For the Cubs, the latter seems to be the case, as they may have felt the pressure of expectations — and the immediacy of the letdowns — in front of their home fans. Taking to the road, especially on the heels of an emotional win to extend the series in front of those fans, could give them the push they need to fight with the aching desire of a team that wants to both silence the home crowd and continue to meet its own internal expectations as well.

Baseball is a game of numbers and measured logic, but as is the case with all competitions, the tenacity of competitive yearning plays a role as well. The Cubs will be tense for the moment, but Joe Maddon will make sure they are focused within it as well. Intangible desire could very well be the most important advantage the Cubs could channel tonight.