Three swings, six runs batted in
Pete Crow-Armstrong had never hit three home runs in a single major league game. That changed on Saturday at Wrigley Field, where the Chicago Cubs put up 17 runs against the Cincinnati Reds and won by 12.
The order of it: a solo shot in the first inning, a two-run drive in the second, a three-run blast in the seventh. Six runs driven in, and a season total that climbed to 36 home runs, the highest figure on a Chicago roster that has not been short of power this year.
Around him, the lineup kept adding. Carson Kelly hit a three-run homer and doubled in another run. Seiya Suzuki went deep for two. Alex Bregman homered, added an RBI single and finished with three hits, as did Suzuki. Tyrone Taylor matched Crow-Armstrong with four of the 19 hits Chicago collected, and Nico Hoerner drove in a run with a single.
Try it for $0.99.
A start Gausman did not need to protect
Kevin Gausman gave up five runs on six hits across five innings, the kind of line that usually costs a pitcher an evening. With that offence behind him it barely registered. His record moved to 8-11.
The result ended a three-game losing run for the Cubs, who had been scuffling at exactly the wrong point of the calendar.
Cincinnati keeps falling away
The Reds did not go quietly in the box score. Rookie Sal Stewart hit a two-run homer, his 30th of the season and the most by anyone in the Cincinnati lineup, a number that would headline most rookie campaigns. Eugenio Suarez also went deep for two runs, and JJ Bleday added a sacrifice fly.
None of it mattered on a night when the Cubs scored in bunches. Cincinnati has now lost 10 of its last 15 games, a run that has quietly taken the club out of the conversation it was in a month ago.
For Crow-Armstrong, the timing matters as much as the total. A 36-homer season from a centre fielder who was drafted for his glove is the sort of shift that changes how a roster is built around him.
Discover the rest of our MLB news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply