Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant didn’t have a single run batted in during the first four games of the World Series, but that all changed on Sunday night when his home run helped carry his team to a victory over the Cleveland Indians.
The home run, Bryant’s first of the series, came in the fourth inning of the game and started a three-run rally that gave the Cubs just enough of a cushion to win a 3-2 decision. Bryant, a strong contender for National League MVP honors at the end of the season, not only helped his team to victory, but he also made some pretty remarkable history as well.
Bryant’s home run made him the youngest Cubs player to hit a long ball during a World Series game in over 80 years. In fact, at 24 years old, Bryant is the youngest Cubs player to hit a home run in a World Series game since Frank Demaree hit a long ball during Game 4 of the 1932 World Series against the New York Yankees.
That wasn’t the only bit of history that Bryant made either. Later in the game, the third baseman stole second base, and ended up reaching third on a throwing error by Roberto Perez. With a stolen base and a home run in the same game, Bryant became the first Cubs player to achieve both feats in one contest during World Series play and the first player overall to do it since Chase Utley accomplished the feat in the 2009 World Series as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Both of Bryant’s accomplishments have kept hopes alive for the team’s first championship in more than 100 years, and the quest to achieve that goal will continue on Tuesday night as Game 6 of the World Series takes place in Cleveland.