Of all the teams Cleveland had to face it was the hard-luck Cubs. It was hard to root against them. I think had Michael Brantley and Yan Gomes not been injured Cleveland would have won. At the time Brantley was one of the best hitters in the game. Gomes had just come off the injured list but was slotted as back-up, not having the opportunity to yet find timing at the plate.
And then the rain delay!
With the game tied 66 after nine innings, a sudden cloudburst resulted in a 17-minute rain delay. During the delay, Cubs right fielder Heyward called his teammates into a weight room behind Chicago's dugout and told them, "We're the best team in baseball ... for a reason... Stick together and we're going to win this game." After the game, many of Heyward's teammates credited him with renewing their spirits.
Anthony Rizzo. 1B, called the rain delay "the most important thing to happen to the Chicago Cubs in the past 100 years. I don't think there's any way we win the game without it." Cubs president Theo Epstein said that when he heard about the meeting called by Heyward, "Right then I thought, 'We're winning this game.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_World_Series