The depth of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s greatness was on display in the eighth inning Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.
Crow-Armstrong covered 69 feet to make a diving catch on a ball in left-center field that had a 5% catch probability off the bat of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Brice Turang for the second out in the top of the eighth.
Minutes later, as “P-C-A!” echoed around the ballpark from the crowd of 38,687, the 23-year-old budding superstar stepped into the batter’s box. He got all of Brewers lefty Rob Zastryzny’s first-pitch elevated cutter, barreling the ball at 111.5 mph off the right-field video board for a 452-foot solo home run.
Crow-Armstrong’s homer, his 19th of the year, extended the lead to 5-3, and the score held as the Cubs (45-28) increased their division lead to 6½ games over the Brewers.
“That’s why we come to the ballpark, to see things like that, to see great players do amazing things,” manager Craig Counsell said.
Cubs fans’ chants quickly transitioned to “M-V-P!” after Crow-Armstrong rounded the bases and returned to the dugout. He tried to take it in as he remembered his daily goal to slow down a little more.
Crow-Armstrong calls that his ode to former Cubs third base coach Willie Harris, who persisted in telling him that every day the previous two seasons.
“Those moments are the ones that I really need to slow down in, and those are important to appreciate,” Crow-Armstrong said of hearing “M-V-P!” from the fans. “That was my first time really getting those kind of chants. Yeah, I definitely tried soaking it in, but that was very, very cool.”
Entering Tuesday, Crow-Armstrong’s 12 outs above average (OAA) ranked No. 1 in the majors.
“I missed out on some opportunities last year on some diving plays,” he said. “I would say I’m executing better this year, but, yeah, I feel like I’ve always known how to kind of fall and do that. It’s natural at this point.”
Photos: Chicago Cubs take opener vs. Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field
Another moment in the spotlight for Crow-Armstrong was part of a big night for the heart of the Cubs lineup. Kyle Tucker collected three hits, including two doubles, and Seiya Suzuki delivered the timely go-ahead hit in the fifth.
Suzuki bounced back from striking out against Brewers starter Chad Patrick in his first two at-bats to slug a three-run homer that put the Cubs up 4-2 in the fifth.
That ended a streak of 36 consecutive innings in which the Cubs were ahead by one run, tied or trailing by one at the end of the inning. It was their longest such streak since a 40-inning streak from Aug. 1-5, 2003, per team historian Ed Hartig.
Suzuki is the second Cubs player this century to tally at least 61 RBIs in his first 69 games, joining Sammy Sosa, who did it in 2000 and 2001.
“Hitting sometimes is about maybe the guy makes pitches on you the first two at-bats and then he makes a mistake, and you’re ready for the mistake,” Counsell said. “If pitchers make pitches, it’s tough to get hits.
“The guy left something out over the plate, and Seiya didn’t put himself in a passive mode because of the previous two at-bats. He put himself in aggressive mode and did something with it.”
Right-hander Ben Brown allowed two runs in five innings, striking out five and walking two. Brown has recorded 53 strikeouts with only nine walks in his last eight outings, spanning 43 innings. With left-hander Shota Imanaga nearing a return from the injured list as he makes a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Friday, the Cubs face a looming decision on whom Imanaga will replace in the rotation.
“Jed (Hoyer) and Carter (Hawkins) make those decisions, and I’m just grateful to be a part of the team today and just got to keep putting in work to be a part of the team in the future,” Brown said. “And whatever that decision is, it is what it is.”
