CHICAGO – After news of Shohei Ohtani's setback in his pitching rehab program reached Wrigley Field, it took all of two innings for Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong to hit two more home runs – his 34th and 35th of the season.
A deafening chorus of chants rained down after the second homer, nearly 40,000 voices strong: "M-V-P! M-V-P!"
Not to be outshined in his own drive for postseason hardware, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewartresponded in the next half-inning with a loud drive over the left-field wall for his 30th home run and RBIs 103 and 104.
recalled
It made him the 10th rookie since the Rookie of the Year award was established in 1947 to hit at least 30 home runs with 100 RBIs. The nine others all won the award.
And it's still August.
If anyone watching at that point didn't already know that this day would be defined more by two of the highest-profile personal storylines of the season than a Cubs blowout win over a last-place team, Crow-Armstrong offered a 444-foot reminder in the seventh when he lined a three-run homer off Tony Santillan into the left-field bleachers of a game that got so lopsided so fast that the Reds finished the game with catcher Jose Trevino pitching.
Final score: Cubs 17, Reds 5.
Welcome to the National League MVP race, where PCA, 24, has put himself firmly in the driver's seat – if he wasn't already in it – to unseat Ohtani, who has won three straight MVPs, including the last two in the NL.
And say hello to the 22-year-old All-Star slugger for the Reds who arguably has been in the driver's seat for NL Rookie of the Year for more than a month.
Stewart, the first Red with 30 home runs in a season since three Reds reached that mark in 2021, leads the majors in RBIs and is on pace to be the first Red with at least 120 since Hall of Famer Dave Parker knocked in 125 in 1985.
Stewart would be just the third rookie to lead his league in RBIs since the RBI became an official stat in 1920, joining Ted Williams (1939) and Walt Dropo (1950).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Reds routed in forgettable game on day to remember in MVP, ROY races
