CHICAGO (AP) – Jason Kipnis remembered re-enacting a World Series home run in his backyard, about 20 miles north of Wrigley Field, perhaps driving a softball or an acorn off a tree.
And then he sent a three-run shot soaring about 10 rows up in the right-field bleachers of the Friendly Confines on Saturday night.
“It went a lot farther than that one, too, in my mind,” he said. “You can’t draw this up. Everyone makes that situation, T-ball in the backyard or Wiffle Ball, and I actually got to live it. You can imagine what kind of high I’m feeling right now.”
Kipnis helped beat the team he rooted for as a child and moved the Cleveland Indians within a win of their first World Series title since 1948. His seventh-inning homer off Travis Wood broke open the game, helping the Indians rout the Cubs 7-2 for a 3-1 Series lead.
His home run quieted Wrigley Field fans. In his backyard in suburban Northbrook, supporters were more boisterous.