Travis Wood didn't pitch in Game 7 of the World Series, but the then-Cubs reliever still played a role in a critical juncture of the championship-clinching win.
Jon Lester was available out of the bullpen in Game 7 and leaned on Wood as he warmed up in the early-to-middle innings.
"When I got down there, I was like, 'Hey, man, listen, you have the reins,'" Lester said on the Cubs Talk Podcast on Wednesday. "'You have to control what's going on here because otherwise I'm just going to throw until they put me in the game.'"
Lester began warming up the inning before he came in the game but got too hot too fast. The Cubs sat him back down. By the time the bottom of the fifth inning began to unfold, the Cubs, leading 5-1, had him warm up again.
"When they got me back up, it was like sheer panic," Lester said. "Like hands on deck, let's go and it's rapid fire. I think I got about 25, 30 throws in in about 45 seconds and [Wood is] screaming at me to stop throwing.
"I just look at him like I'm going to rip his neck off. He literally comes and stands in front of me, like stood in front of me to where I couldn't throw anymore."
Lester replaced Kyle Hendricks in the fifth with a runner on and two outs. He allowed a single and Cleveland then scored a pair of runs off him on a wild pitch that deflected off David Ross' mask towards the Cubs' dugout.
Lester settled in and didn't allow a run over his final 2 2/3 innings, and after a dramatic final few innings, the Cubs prevailed in 10 innings.
"He helped save a few bullets down there," Lester said of Wood.
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