Bob Nightengale

USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, in his gutsiest move of the postseason, and stealing a page straight out of the Cleveland Indians’ handbook, went for the jugular Sunday night.

And the Cubs live to see another day.

The Cubs, using closer Aroldis Chapman in his longest stint of his career, hung on to beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2, staving off elimination, and sending the World Series back to Cleveland for Game 6, trailing 3 games to 2.

“Whoever says they want to go to Cleveland?’’ Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said before the game. “Especially in November.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say those words.

“But right now, there’s no place I’d rather be.’’

Cubs survive, force Game 6 of World Series in Cleveland

Wish granted, and the Cubs will take their dreams to Cleveland, trying to win that first World Series title since 1908.

“There’s no way,’’ said Cubs catcher David Ross, playing his final game at Wrigley Field, “you thought winning a World Series was going to be easy.’’

The Indians, of course, still are in fabulous shape. There hasn’t been a team that has blown a 3-1 lead with the final two games at home since the 1979 Baltimore Orioles lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Then again, the Indians, have been in this position before, only to endure their own heartache.

They were up 3 games to 1 in the 2007 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, only to be outscored, 30-5 in the next three games, and watch the Red Sox sweep the World Series.

They were two outs away from winning the 1997 World Series, only to blow a ninth-inning lead, and lose in 11 innings.

Still, the Indians insist, there’s no reason to panic. They’ve got Game 6 at Progressive Field on Tuesday. And if needed, Game 7 in Cleveland.

Yet, even with ace Corey Kluber scheduled for Game 7, the Indians would prefer not to have that kind of pressure.

“You don’t want to give lineups like that, momentum,’’ Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis says, “or teams to start feeling good about themselves.

“So the best thing to do is kind of put them away before they can do that.’’

But, if the Indians can close it out, they’ve got a chance to do something quite unique in the city of Cleveland.

The only championships ever clinched in the city of Cleveland was the ’64 Cleveland Browns, and the 1920 Indians.

So, after all of the heartbreak the Indians have put their fans through all of these years, they finally are giving them a chance to let out 68 years of emotion.

The Cubs, who haven’t won the World Series since 1908, are battling their own demons. Six times they were down 3-1 in best-of-seven series, and six times they lost.

“We’ve got to play like it’s just a game,’’ Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo says, “and not worry about the outside noise.’’

Well, if not for Chapman, their rent-a-player pickup in July, there wouldn’t even be another game.

Maddon called upon Chapman to work longer than at any time in his career, summoning Chapman with one out in the seventh inning, trying to save their season.

Just once in Chapman’s career has he ever worked more than two innings, which was July 9 against the Cleveland Indians, back when he was pitching for the New York Yankees.

And never had he thrown more than 36 pitches in a game.

He came in with Mike Napoli on first base, and Jose Ramirez at the plate. Ramirez homered in the second inning off Cubs starter Jon Lester for his lone blemish. Chapman, who crossed up catcher Willson Contreras on one pitch, permitting Napoli to reach second, came back and struck him out.

“Yeah, he throws hard,’’ Ramirez said, “but it’s not like it’s anything from a different world.’’

Chapman ran into a little trouble when he hit Brandon Guyer with a pitch, but escaped, when he induced a ground ball to Cubs second baseman Javy Baez for the inning-ending out.

In the eighth inning, Chapman ran into more trouble, with Rajai Davis getting a one-out single, and stealing second. Chapman struck out Kipnis for the second out. Davis put on even more pressure by stealing third base uncontested.

But with the dangerous Francisco Lindor at the plate, he looked at two consecutive 101-mph fastballs, for strike 3.

Chapman got through the ninth, and suddenly, the Cubs had their version of Andrew Miller.

“Listen, I'm very pleased and proud of our group, period,’’ Maddon said, “over the last two years. I think all of our Cub following feels the same way. We are at the doorstep, the precipice of winning a World Series, absolutely. I understand the angst involved with that.

“But I do believe that our Cubs’ fans, the ones that I've spoken with, are really digging on everything that's happened.’’

Well, what they really dug this night was seeing some offense.

The Cubs, after scoring just two runs in 18 innings the first two games at Wrigley, their offense finally came alive.

Just in time.

It began when Kris Bryant, who had just one hit this series and was batting .067, launched Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer’s fastball into the first row of the left-center-field bleachers.

It was as if one swing of the jolted the entire Cubs’ lineup to its senses.

Rizzo swung at Bauer’s next pitch, sending it off the right-field wall for a double. Ben Zobrist, who has been the Cubs’ best hitter, followed with a single to left. Just like that, the Cubs strung together three consecutive hits for the first time this series.

Maddon called for struggling Addison Russell to lay down a safety squeeze bunt. It failed. No matter. He got a better result by hitting a soft single to third base, and the Cubs had a 2-1 lead. Jason Heyward struck out for the first out, and then Javy Baez, struggling more than anyone in the Cubs’ lineup, bunted for a hit, loading the bases. Ross, who’s retiring after the season, then hit his best sacrifice fly of the season, giving the Cubs a 3-1 lead.

By the time the inning ended, the Cubs scored more runs in one inning than they produced the previous 18 innings at Wrigley, simply adding to Bauer’s postseason struggles.

Bauer, who mowed through the Cubs the first time through the batting order, striking out five of the nine batters, couldn’t even make it through the second time through the lineup, and was out of the game after just four innings.

Four times he started this postseason, and four times he failed to make it past 4 2/3 innings. It’s the first time in history a pitcher started four times without making it through five innings.

It also was the first time this postseason that the Indians failed to win a game when they had the lead.

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