CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong pulled a pitch from Tigers lefty Framber Valdez deep into the right-field corner to lead off the first inning on Tuesday, and then both the Cubs’ center fielder and the North Siders were off and running.
Crow-Armstrong legged out a triple, igniting a six-run first inning that set the tone for an 11-2 romp over the Tigers at Wrigley Field. It was a furious opening frame that allowed Cubs lefty David Peterson to settle into a rhythm to guide the North Siders to their fifth win in seven games.
“We just did a wonderful job,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “The team approach was really good tonight, offensively.”
Here were three keys to the Cubs’ win over Detroit:
1. Chasing Valdez in first
With a strong wind blowing in at the Friendly Confines, the best path to scoring runs on Tuesday was going to be stringing multiple hits together. Chicago’s lineup was up to the task in a 10-batter, 42-pitch attack against Valdez.
Including Crow-Armstrong’s triple to light the spark, the first seven hitters reached base for the North Siders in the opening frame. That included four consecutive singles from Carson Kelly (two RBIs), Michael Busch (one RBI), Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ (one RBI) after Valdez walked Seiya Suzuki and hit Alex Bregman with a pitch to load the bases.
Crow-Armstrong ended Valdez’s evening with a bases-loaded walk that pushed the Cubs to a 5-0 lead. Tigers reliever Ty Madden took over and also issued a walk with the bags full (Suzuki) before finally escaping the inning.
“Maybe we caught a couple breaks,” Counsell said. “But we made it hard on him and had really good at-bats. It was a move-the-line type of inning that we did a really good job on. If you get a starter like that out in the first inning, you collectively -- and team-wide -- had a really good approach.”
2. Conforto’s pinch-hitting power
When the Tigers handed the ball to righty Brenan Hanifee in the fifth inning, it was a chance for Cubs manager Craig Counsell to call veteran Michael Conforto off the bench. Conforto has been an offensive weapon as a pinch-hitter, and that held true once again.
Conforto drilled a 1-0 changeup from Hanifee out to right field -- through a strong wind that had been toying with fly balls all evening -- and into the bleacher seats for a two-run shot that padded Chicago’s lead. The blast was Conforto’s ninth of the season overall, but fourth in pinch-hit chances.
In fact, Conforto’s four pinch-hit home runs not only lead the Majors right now, but they are tied for the most in a season for a Cubs batter since at least 1901. Glenallen Hill -- famous for his prodigious power -- also had four for the North Siders in 1999. On the year, Conforto has hit .333 with a 1.268 OPS in 29 plate appearances as a pinch-hitter.
“It’s always, can you find a player that can do this job and be successful at it?” Counsell said. “I don’t know if there’s any blueprint for it, but Michael has done a fabulous job at it. You feel like it’s a real weapon to have somebody like that. All year, it feels like his biggest hits have been pinch-hits.”
3. Peterson’s strong start
The Cubs traded for Peterson with the goal of getting his season back on track and also shoring up the rotation at the same time. Four starts into his tenure with Chicago, there has been more good than bad from the veteran lefty.
And on Tuesday night, Peterson fashioned his best start to date for the Cubs. Working with the early cushion, Peterson gave the North Siders 6 2/3 scoreless innings, in which he generated nine outs via grounders and struck out four. It marked only the fourth time in the left-hander’s career he worked at least that many scoreless frames.
“When those guys are running to the bat rack and excited to hit,” Peterson said, “my job is to put the ball in the zone and get quick outs and let them get back in and start hitting again.”
Peterson left with two outs and a runner aboard in the seventh due to a leadoff walk to Dillon Dingler. Righty Aaron Civale got the final out -- with a big assist from Crow-Armstrong. Ben Malgeri drove a pitch deep into the left-center-field gap, where Crow-Armstrong sprinted over and made a running grab that ended with him slamming into the ivy-covered wall.
“They’re just plays that nobody else is going to make,” Counsell said of Crow-Armstrong’s defense. “Nobody else is making the plays. And you’re going to have to watch baseball a long time to find someone who’s going to make the plays. That’s how good it is.”