If the Chicago Cubs (75-70) are unable to sneak into the playoffs this season, which will be quite difficult to do, their top priority must then be identifying players who can make up their core. After another highlight-filled performance, Pete Crow-Armstrong might be inserting himself into that group.
The rookie center fielder helped the Cubbies pull off a captivating 6-3 comeback win versus the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday, excelling on both sides of the ball. He went 2-for-4 at the dish with two RBIs, continuing his summer surge. Though, it was his bread-and-butter defense that allowed him to make a lasting impression in Dodger Stadium.
After belting a home run in the fifth, Max Muncy seemed destined to go yard for the second time of the night. With his team down to its last out and a runner on third base, the slugger launched the ball towards the wall, and right into the grasp of the leaping Crow-Armstrong. It was an electrifying end to a hard-fought game that clinched the series for Chicago.
Fans will vividly remember this win and that exclamation point if the ballclub does manage to overcome a four-game deficit in the National League Wild Card race. It is also a standout moment for the speedy 22-year-old, but definitely not the only one he enjoyed on Tuesday.
Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong ‘lives' for this
Crow-Armstrong made a nifty sliding catch to deny Kike Hernandez of a hit and nicely recovered to haul in a Shohei Ohtani fly ball in the eighth inning. He was also close to robbing a Tommy Edman homer earlier in the game, in what turned out to be merely a warm-up for an evening of defensive excellence.
But everyone always focuses on the ending, and in what could be the Cubs' season-defining victory, the 2020 first-round draft pick delivered a magnificent one. He explains his mindset in the outfield and how it feels to make such show-stopping plays.
“Just staying with it, ready for that ball every play,” Crow-Armstrong told Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network postgame. “That's what I live for. That gives me joy. I mean, to do it in spots like that, that's what you go to sleep dreaming about.”
In a game that features a pitching battle between Shota Imanaga and the returning Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and sees MVP favorite Shohei Ohtani and former MVPs Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Cody Bellinger all step into the batter's box, Crow-Armstrong steals the headlines.
Big things are obviously expected from this young talent, but he is already one of the best center fielders in baseball (nine outs above average, per Statcast). The Sherman Oaks, California native weathered a slow start to 2024 and is beginning to morph into a productive hitter.
It is no coincidence that his emergence is happening in concurrence with that of the Cubs. The team goes for the sweep of LA on Wednesday before facing the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals. That is a tantalizing stretch on the schedule for this postseason-hungry franchise, but Crow-Armstrong will probably need to stay hot in order for Chicago to capitalize.
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