CLEVELAND — It seemed as if the Indians played the first two rounds of the postseason under the condition of anonymity as the Cubs’ quest to break the drought of all championship droughts captured the vast majority of nationwide interest.

The Indians emphatically introduced themselves to the latecomers last night.

Behind another postseason gem by ace Corey Kluber, two shaky but scoreless innings from Andrew Miller and two homers from catcher Roberto Perez, the Indians beat the Cubs in Game 1 of the World Series, 6-0, in front of a bundled up but boisterous crowd of 38,091 at Progressive Field.

With the defending NBA champion Cavaliers raising a banner and receiving their rings across the street at Quicken Loans Arena, the 30-year-old Kluber delivered on the biggest sports night in this city’s history.

And because of the patched-together nature of Cleveland’s rotation, Kluber came through in a game the Indians all but had to have in order to make this a series.

Kluber, 2-1 with a 0.98 ERA in three previous starts this October, used a killer two-seam fastball and nasty curve to outpitch annual postseason stud Jon Lester. Kluber threw six-plus innings, allowing four hits and no walks. He struck out nine, including eight in the first three innings to set a World Series record.

Before the game, Perez spoke of how much he didn’t enjoy hitting in cold weather. It didn’t bother him as he hit a solo homer in the fourth to make it 3-0. He then cracked a three-run shot with two outs in the eighth to make it 6-0, becoming the first catcher to hit two homers in a World Series game since Gary Carter did it for the Mets in Game 4 in 1986.

Lester came in 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in three postseason starts this season. He allowed three runs, two in the first inning, and six hits in 5 2/3. The lefthander walked three and struck out seven.

Miller, the ALCS MVP, had not allowed a run in six postseason appearances, striking out 21 and walking two in 112/3 innings. He came on for Kluber after Ben Zobrist led off the seventh with a single. The left-hander stepped into trouble, loading the bases with none out, but his slider helped him step out of it.

Miller walked Kyle Schwarber before Javier Baez singled to load the bases. Pinch hitter Willson Contreras flied to short center — the Indians had a straying Schwarber doubled off second but center fielder Rajai Davis fired home instead. Miller then struck out Addison Russell on three pitches. He fell behind David Ross 3-and-1 before striking the catcher out with a slider.

Two batters reached in the eighth against Miller but he struck out Schwarber to end the threat.

The Indians took the lead in the first inning, scoring both runs with two outs.

Francisco Lindor, who had three hits, improved to 11-for-32 in the postseason with a two-out single. Lester, who because of the yips doesn’t throw to first base, then saw Lindor steal second. Mike Napoli drew a walk and, after getting ahead 3-and-0, so did Carlos Santana.

Jose Ramirez dribbled a ball about 30 feet up the third-base line for a hit that brought in Lindor for a 1-0 lead. Lester got ahead of Brandon Guyer 0-and-2 but hit the left fielder with a cutter, forcing in Napoli to make it 2-0. Guyer, a trade deadline acquisition from the Rays, led the majors in hit by pitches, 31, this season.

Kluber’s eight strikeouts in the first three innings broke the record shared by Bob Gibson, Orlando Hernandez and Randy Johnson.

The Indians tacked on with one out in the fourth when Perez jumped on a 0-and-1 fastball and lined it off the railing atop the big wall in left. His second homer of the postseason made it 3-0. It had an exit velocity of 112.9 mph, according to MLBStatCast, the hardest-hit ball off Lester this season.