CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong sprinted through home plate and continued into foul territory on Sunday afternoon. The Cubs center fielder hopped onto the short brick wall and began celebrating face-to-face with fans before jumping back down to join his partying teammates on the infield.
“He’s a madman,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said with a laugh.
Crow-Armstrong’s mad dash scored the winning run in a 2-1 walk-off victory in 10 innings over the Mets at Wrigley Field, extending the Cubs’ winning streak to five games. Hoerner brought him in with a sacrifice fly to right and, in doing so, sealed a three-game sweep that also sunk New York to an 11-game losing skid.
For most of the afternoon, Chicago’s bats struggled to get anything going, but that was all rendered moot thanks to a strong showing by Cubs pitchers and some patience on a windy day at the Friendly Confines. The 1-for-19 showing with runners on base is merely a footnote. The “W” flag rippling atop the old scoreboard is what mattered in the end.
“We’re never really out of this thing,” Crow-Armstrong said, “with the lineup we have and the type of defense we play. It’s nice to be able to finish the job.”
And it had to feel good for both Hoerner and Crow-Armstrong.
In the third inning, Crow-Armstrong ripped a pitch from lefty David Peterson deep into the right-center gap for a leadoff triple. As he slid into third, the Wrigley faithful were riled up and got louder as he celebrated the sprint. Crow-Armstrong then could not score on a groundout from Dansby Swanson, and was doubled off third after Hoerner lined out to second baseman Marcus Semien.
The Cubs had the leadoff hitter on in each of the first three frames with nothing to show for it. They were 0-for-14 with men on base and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position through the first eight innings. That gave MJ Melendez’s solo home run off Cubs starter Javier Assad in the fifth the potential to be the frustrating difference in the game.
“It’s just a really, really nice example of [guys] staying ready to make an impact somehow,” Crow-Armstrong said.
Assad, who came up from Triple-A Iowa after starter Matthew Boyd landed on the 15-day injured list, gave the Cubs 5 2/3 solid innings. Jacob Webb struck out Francisco Lindor to strand a runner on third in the sixth and covered another frame. Rookie Riley Martin and righty Corbin Martin -- a pair of arms recently added amid a wave of injuries -- handled the eighth and ninth.
That bought the Cubs’ lineup time to find its breakthrough moment.
“The story of the game was pitching,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We pitched extremely well. I’m proud of those guys. Definitely some confidence-building appearances for those guys.”
It set the stage for the Cubs’ game-tying push in the ninth.
Facing Mets closer Devin Williams, Ian Happ led off with a single to left field and was replaced at first by pinch-runner Scott Kingery. Two batters later, Counsell turned to veteran Michael Conforto as a pinch-hitter for Matt Shaw. Mets fans had to be thinking, “Of course it would be Conforto.” He spent the first seven years of his career with the team.
And one day after Carson Kelly’s first-pitch, pinch-hit home run off Mets lefty Brooks Raley, Conforto applied salt to the wound with a first-pitch, game-tying double into right. Mets right fielder Tyrone Taylor could not corral the ball cleanly as it rattled around the corner, allowing Kingery to score from first.
“I was telling some of the guys,” Conforto said, “Carson inspired me yesterday. Ready to go. Got what he wanted. For me in that moment, I was like, ‘I’m going to hammer a fastball right here if he throws it.’ He did.
“It’s a big swing for us. First sweep of the year. The offense being held to no runs up to that point and our pitchers putting on a performance against a team that’s fighting for their lives. It’s just a big moment.”
Cubs veteran Caleb Thielbar held the Mets at bay in the top of the 10th and Chicago had a great recipe lined up for the home half.
The fleet-footed Crow-Armstrong was the automatic runner at second base with Hoerner and his elite contact rate due up second.
“If you can pick the way that inning sequenced and who we had coming up,” Counsell said, “it was the right guys coming up for the inning, and the right guy on base.”
Hoerner delivered. Crow-Armstrong got the party started in Wrigleyville.
“It’s just fun,” he said of hopping up on the wall.