Levine: Cubs Hitters Aim To Stay In Character Against Corey Kluber

By Bruce Levine--

CLEVELAND (CBS) -- Nicknamed the "Klubot," Indians right-hander Corey Kluber has earned the moniker by pitching like a well-oiled machine. On Tuesday night, he'll be the first barrier in front of the Cubs as they take aim at a championship, as he starts Game 1 of the World Series

Chicago's hitters are aiming to keep their same approach against Kluber. Which is to say, be patient and work the count, see-ball/hit-ball and capitalize on mistakes.

Kluber was 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA and 1.06 WHIP this season, and he's 2-1 with a 0.98 ERA and 1.09 in three postseason starts.

"You better get to him early," an AL Central scout said of Kluber. "Like all the good ones, once he finds his stuff, he will be tougher to get at. He is still excellent but maybe not quite as good as when he won the Cy Young a couple of years ago. He works both sides of the plate, featuring his slider more than his curveball .He has that plus-fastball and works at a quick pace."

Indians manager Terry Francona is the modern-day version of "Captain Hook," a nickname given to Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson. Both love to use the bullpen.

In the case of Game 1, Francona will do his best to get seven innings out of Kluber. He can then turn to a bullpen that features Andrew Miller and Cody Allen.

"He will not be afraid to use the two- and four-seam fast ball," a longtime scout said of Kluber. "He loves to run that sinker in there on right-handed hitters. It looks like a ball, they give up on it and it grabs a piece of the strike zone. Kluber will throw his change up only to left-handed hitters (10 percent ratio). His four-seamer is 95-97 mph. His sinker is around 93 mph with late movement. You must go after him early in the count and hope he misses with his fastball. He will mix things up with a slurve that rotates differently than his other breaking stuff. Kluber is unflappable on the mound. The big stage will not impact him."

Cubs hitting coach John Mallee talked about preparing his hitters for Kluber.

"I will meet with our run production team (metrics people)," Mallee said. "With the hitters, we will show film and how (Kluber) likes to pitch early and in counts. A lot of the guys will watch him and the relief pitchers on their own. We depend on (Ben) Zobrist a lot because he has all that American League experience. He is so good at sharing and communicating with our guys. He knows what it takes as far as approach and what it takes to win at this level. Zo has been through it. You look at the success that Kansas City had. They put the ball in play when Ben was there last year. That helped determine the outcome. All of our guys share info on pitchers. Game 1 will be no different."

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score and CBSChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.