After going 0-for-10 with four strikeouts in the first two games of this series, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong had himself another big day in the third contest. PCA singled, doubled, homered and stole a base and helped lead the Cubs to a 9-1 blowout of the Reds, a victory tempered by a freak injury to Alex Bregman. More on the latter anon, first let’s wrap this win.
The Cubs got on the board in the first inning. PCA led off the game with a single and stole second, his 38th [VIDEO].
The next
two Cubs hitters were retired, but Bregman singled PCA home to make it 1-0 [VIDEO].
The Cubs extended their lead in the third. PCA led off with a double. A note on that double from BCB’s JohnW53:
With his third-inning double, Pete Crow-Armstrong has at least 30 homers, doubles and steals.
Only one Cub had done that before: PCA, last year.
Forty players on other teams have done it, 12 of them also multiple times. PCA is among 10 with two. Alfonso Soriano did it four times; Barry Bonds and Jose Ramirez, three.
It was noted on the Marquee broadcast that PCA’s 40-HR, 30-double, 30-steal year is the first ever by a MLB center fielder — nope, not Willie Mays, not Ken Griffey Jr., no one, until now. I’ve said it before, but don’t ever forget what you are seeing from Pete this year — it is truly historic.
Anyway, PCA then went to third on a ground out by Seiya Suzuki. The Cubs then loaded the bases on walks drawn by Michael Busch and Bregman.
Ian Happ singled in PCA [VIDEO].
Then Nico Hoerner came to the plate and drew a bases-loaded walk after an ABS challenge [VIDEO].
Per the Marquee broadcast, that’s 22 bases-loaded walks for the Cubs this year, the most in MLB.
With the bases still loaded, Michael Conforto struck out, but Pedro Ramirez followed with a two-run single to make it 5-0 [VIDEO].
Now to the Bregman incident in the fourth inning. With two out, Busch hit a foul ball that struck Bregman, who was in the on-deck circle, in the face. Bregman immediately left the game and was replaced by Matt Shaw. Here’s what that looked like [VIDEO].
Per Craig Counsell’s postgame remarks, the ball hit Bregman in the cheekbone, which is swollen. There was also a facial cut, but we don’t know anything beyond that. Hopefully it’s not too serious and Bregman doesn’t have a concussion.
While all this was going on, David Peterson was sailing along, striking out seven over the first four innings. The Reds made it 5-1 on a solo homer by JJ Bleday in the fourth.
The Cubs got that run right back in the fifth on a solo homer by Michael Conforto, his 15th [VIDEO].
If you’re keeping track:
Kyle Tucker, 16 HR, 515 AB
Michael Conforto, 15 HR, 294 AB
Ramirez then singled and one out later, PCA launched his 45th long ball of the year [VIDEO].
That blast tied PCA with Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead. The Cubs also lead MLB in home runs with 217; as noted on the Marquee broadcast, the last time the Cubs led all of baseball in home runs was 1958, led by Ernie Banks with 47 in his first MVP season.
Peterson completed six innings, allowing three hits and just the one run on Bleday’s homer. Here are his seven strikeouts [VIDEO].
More on Peterson’s afternoon from BCB’s JohnW53:
David Peterson’s quality start was his fifth as a Cub, fourth most on the team. Shota Imanaga has 14, as many as the next two combined: Matthew Boyd, eight, and Colin Rea, six. Edward Cabrera and Jameson Taillon both have four. Five others have one to three.
Peterson could be a valuable weapon in the postseason, either as a starter or out of the bullpen.
The Cubs weren’t done homering, either. After Caleb Thielbar threw a scoreless seventh, Suzuki lofted his 25th into the batter’s eye to make it 9-1 [VIDEO].
More on recent Cubs home runs from John:
With their three home runs, the Cubs have hit nine in their last four games (three, one, two, three). They had hit 12 in their previous 14 games, since smacking a team-record nine at home vs. the Brewers on Aug. 31.
Edward Cabrera was given the eighth inning, a good low-leverage situation. He allowed a leadoff single and after retiring the next hitter, another Reds batter reached on an error by Ramirez. But Cabrera got Elly De La Cruz to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Colin Rea finished up with a 1-2-3 ninth, his first game action in 11 days, on just eight pitches. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
The Cubs will clinch a postseason berth if the Yankees defeat the Diamondbacks Sunday, a game that’s just begun at the time of this recap. The Padres, tied with the Cubs for the top wild card spot with the Cubs holding the tiebreaker, are playing the Marlins in a contest in San Diego that’s also just underway. The Phillies defeated the Mets Sunday, so the Cubs still lead Philadelphia by a game. Thanks to the Mets for taking two of the four games from the Phillies over the weekend.
The Cubs have Monday off, then open the final regular season home series Tuesday evening against the Marlins at Wrigley Field. Kevin Gausman will start for the Cubs and Janson Junk will go for Miami. Game time Tuesday is 6:40 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
