CLEVELAND, United States (AFP) — The Chicago Cubs ended America’s longest sports title drought in dramatic fashion Thursday morning, defeating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a 10-inning thriller to capture their first World Series crown since 1908.
The Cubs captured Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven final 4-3, concluding what had been an iconic 107-year run of failure, frustration and futility. But it came only after they squandered a four-run lead and looked ready several times for another heartbreaking stumble.
Ben Zobrist doubled in the go-ahead run and Miguel Montero added a bases-loaded single for an 8-6 Cubs lead in the 10th inning, which followed a 17-minute rain delay after regulation play ended in a 6-6 deadlock.
Rajai Davis, whose two-run home run in the eighth equalized for Cleveland, singled in a run in the 10th for the Indians. But Michael Martinez grounded to third for the final out and a celebration more than a century in the making ensued.
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