CHICAGO – In the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game, Pete Crow-Armstrong flipped his hat around backward and headed to the dugout wearing a vintage Cubs jersey and shorts. A group of kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago was waiting.
The Cubs star center fielder took a seat, chatted them up and had the group smiling and laughing as he answered an array of questions. It was a fun scene – one that ended with him saying he would love to stay, but he had to go get ready for that night’s game against the White Sox.
Crow-Armstrong then gave the kids what they came to see, launching a leadoff homer to jump-start the North Siders’ offense early and chart a course to a 4-3 walk-off win over the White Sox. “The PCA Show” was underway once again, and one night after he authored arguably his greatest single-game performance since he reached the Major Leagues.
“Pete came into the Major Leagues with a good understanding of how he could be an impactful person,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of the star taking time for the kids before the game. “And he also understands the things where he connects with people really well, and who connects with him really well. And what’s important to him.
“One of the things that’s hard for athletes to do sometimes is to keep that all in perspective.”
In the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game, the White Sox opted to intentionally walk Crow-Armstrong with one out, a runner on second and first base vacant. Two batters later, Alex Bregman delivered a game-winning single to center, clinching the Cubs’ 13th walk-off win of the year. In team history, only the 1930 Cubs had more in a season with 14, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Bregman smiled when asked about Crow-Armstrong getting it all started with another homer.
“He’s having an insane season,” said Bregman, who also had a two-out, game-tying single in the seventh. “So, it’s kind of expected for him to do that, but it’s not, at the same time. It’s pretty crazy what he’s doing. Just another extra-base hit for him. He’s been electric for us all year. Unbelievable.”
In Monday’s 7-5 victory over the White Sox, Crow-Armstrong ended things with a two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning after he earlier hit the first pitch of the game out for a homer in the first. He finished the evening with four hits, one walk and a stolen base to keep adding to an MVP case that seemingly gets stronger by the week.
According to Elias, Crow-Armstrong’s performance Monday put him alongside Chris Young (Aug. 7, 2010), Ian Kinsler (July 19, 2009), Reed Johnson (June 15, 2003), Darin Erstad (June 25, 2000) and Vic Power (May 7, 1957) as the only players with a leadoff and walk-off homer in the same game.
On Tuesday, Crow-Armstrong became the 13th player (since at least 1900) with a leadoff homer in the next team game after hitting a walk-off shot, per Elias. Jose Altuve (June 15-16, 2021) was the last to achieve the feat. Crow-Armstrong became the first Cubs player in that span to do so, and he is the first in MLB history to do it after having a leadoff homer and a walk-off blast in the previous game.
This marked the second time this season that Crow-Armstrong belted a leadoff homer in back-to-back games. He also did so on June 15-16 this season. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, Brady Anderson boasts the record (since at least 1900) with leadoff homers in four straight games in 1996. Ronald Acuña Jr. (2018) and Alex Verdugo (2023) did it in three games in a row. Crow-Armstrong could join that list on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s blast came off a 2-1 four-seamer from White Sox lefty Bryan Hudson and gave Crow-Armstrong 31 home runs on the season. With his two-homer showing on Monday night, the center fielder became the first Cubs player (and 10th in MLB history) to record a 30-30 campaign in consecutive seasons.
Back to Counsell’s point, keeping things in perspective was very much on Crow-Armstrong’s mind ahead of Monday’s wild performance.
When Crow-Armstrong homered in the third inning on Sunday, it broke him free of a 1-for-22 slump between that shot and his previous homer last week. The center fielder had been beating himself up mentally over that mini slump, but did what he could Monday to snap himself out of it.
“I don’t think Pete was too happy with his performance this weekend,” Counsell said. “And you know it – you know when he’s not happy about his performance.”
Crow-Armstrong typically does his pregame hitting in the Cubs’ indoor batting tunnel, but he took things outside ahead of Monday night’s game. He did hit tee work and flip drills and got the visual of launching pitches in the Friendly Confines. Crow-Armstrong also had some chats with teammates and coaches that helped.
“I had a lot of conversations the last couple days about perspective,” Crow-Armstrong said Monday night. “I wasn’t really reminding myself that it was only, really, a week of not-so-good stuff. But today, I was like, man, it’s pedal to the metal.”