Crow-Armstrong hits three home runs in Cubs' 17-5 win
The Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong, known as PCA, homered three times against the Cincinnati Reds after Sammy Sosa asked him for three.
Three swings at Wrigley Field
Pete Crow-Armstrong hit three home runs for the Chicago Cubs in a 17-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on Saturday, MLB.com reported. It was the first three-homer game of his career.
He led off the first inning by driving a fastball from Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott into the bleachers in right-center field. An inning later he hit a curveball from Abbott off the foul pole down the right-field line for a two-run shot.
Former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was on the field before the game, and MLB.com reported that he and Billy Williams were in the batting cage. "He was like, 'I want three out of you today. I need three,'" Crow-Armstrong said of Sosa. "Sure enough."
The National League MVP picture
Crow-Armstrong entered the day leading Major League Baseball with 8.6 wins above replacement, according to the FanGraphs figures cited by MLB.com. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers was second at 6.9, made up of 4.0 offensive WAR and 2.9 pitching WAR.
After the game, MLB.com put Crow-Armstrong's WAR at 9.1. The publication placed that behind only Rogers Hornsby's 11.0 in 1929, Sosa's 9.9 in 2001, Ernie Banks's 9.7 in 1959 and Ron Santo's 9.5 in 1967.
Ohtani has won the last two National League Most Valuable Player awards and four MVP trophies in total. MLB.com reported that news broke from Los Angeles before the Cubs game that he had suffered a setback after a bullpen session on Friday, as he works back as a pitcher following a left knee issue. He had a 1.79 earned run average in 14 starts earlier in the season.
A veteran lineup and how to pitch to him
On the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast carried by Yahoo Sports, the panel said the Cubs have been as dangerous offensively as any team in Major League Baseball since the All-Star break. Former Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said the offense is anchored by Crow-Armstrong, with a veteran supporting cast around him.
Rizzo said the team has faced adversity through the year, including with its bullpen, but described it as battle tested and capable of doing damage in October.
Jeff Brantley, who works as an analyst for the Reds, said a pitcher has to get ahead in the count against Crow-Armstrong. His advice was to start down and away and then avoid throwing another strike, because deep counts favour the hitter. Former hitter Joey Votto pointed to the first-inning leadoff homer as the kind of blow that is hard for an opposing team to absorb.
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