Indians' Corey Kluber will be ready for World Series Game 7 start vs. Cubs

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CLEVELAND — Though he would have loved for his team to wrap up the World Series on Tuesday night, you’d better believe Corey Kluber will be ready for Game 7.

Even though he wasn’t sure he’d be needed again after he helped the Cleveland Indians take a 3-1 series lead with a victory in Game 4 on Saturday night, Kluber prepped for one more start as he normally would.

Turns out the 2014 American League Cy Young Award winner will make his third start of the 2016 World Series after all. Courtesy of a 9-3 Cubs victory in Game 6 on Tuesday, Kluber will face Kyle Hendricks in Game 7 at 7:08 p.m. CST on Wednesday.

“In doing all my work it was the same trying to get myself prepared,” Kluber said on Tuesday afternoon. “I’ll be rooting as hard as anybody for us to win tonight. But I think my mindset was I’d rather be prepared and not have to pitch than try to will us to not get to a Game 7 and then not be ready when it comes.”

Kluber has been nothing short of fantastic all postseason and somehow managed to find an extra gear in the World Series. An 18-game winner in the regular season, Kluber is 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA in 30 1/3 innings in the postseason. He has struck out 35 batters and walked only eight.

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Kluber has allowed only one run in 12 innings in two starts against the Cubs, winning both. He has struck out 15 batters and walked one, limiting the Cubs to nine hits.

Despite pitching six innings in both victories, Cleveland manager Terry Francona has managed to keep Kluber’s workload in check. Kluber threw 88 pitches in Game 1 and only 81 in Game 4. Even so, Kluber said he’s spent more time “doing the different methods of recovery.”

“But I still get in the same amount of work in between, it’s just a little bit more condensed. …

“I haven’t found much of a difference yet in the way I feel when I go out there on three days’ rest as opposed to four.”

Prior to this postseason Kluber had made only one appearance on three days’ rest in his career back when he pitched two innings in relief in 2011. Francona said several discussions with Kluber have him of the belief his ace is more than capable of handling the task again.

“Conversations with him, the way he treats his body, the way he works his routines,” Francona said. “I think good players, good pitchers, can do special things. He’s in that category. …

“It was kind of an easy decision after talking to him.”

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