CHICAGO -- Shohei Ohtani showed exactly why he has won four Most Valuable Player Awards on Wednesday afternoon, sending a pitch from lefty Shota Imanaga rocketing into Wrigley Field’s right-field bleachers to open the series finale between the Dodgers and Cubs. And then Pete Crow-Armstrong showed everyone that this year’s MVP race could have a different result.
In the home half of the first inning, Crow-Armstrong launched a leadoff homer of his own, connecting with a first-pitch fastball from lefty Eric Lauer. In what has been a statement series for the North Siders so far, Chicago’s star center fielder made a statement of his own with that powerful swing. And they each added a second blast later in the game to keep fueling this debate.
“They were going toe to toe,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the Cubs’ 7-6 win completed a three-game sweep. “Obviously, there's a lot of talk about those two guys being the front-runners for the MVP. They both showed up, and you can see that they hear what's being said about them. And that was fun for the fans.”
It marked just the second time in the past 50 years where both teams hit a leadoff homer at Wrigley Field. The only other time such an event took place was May 1, 2018, when Charlie Blackmon and Anthony Rizzo traded blasts in a bout between the Rockies and Cubs.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, there has never been an MLB game in which two players who went on to finish in the top-10 in MVP voting that season both hit leadoff home runs. Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong are poised to be the first duo to achieve that niche feat.
This also marked the first time in MLB history both teams led off with a left-on-left homer, per Elias.
“Today just showed that both of them are superstars, especially Pete,” Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga said via his interpreter, Edwin Stanberry. “I think once I’m done playing baseball, I’m going to talk about the fact that I got to play with such a great player.”
Ohtani has to still be considered the favorite for the MVP Award, having picked up the trophy in four of the past five years and in the previous two with the Dodgers.
Los Angeles' global superstar is a unicorn in the sport, providing a powerful bat on one side of the game and featuring an overpowering arm on the mound, as well. The catch in the MVP discussion right now is the fact that a left knee issue has kept Ohtani away from pitching since July 3, and his comeback timeline is a bit fluid at the moment.
“He’s a great player,” Ohtani said via interpreter, Will Ireton. “It’s too early to think about [the MVP race]. In a way, for me, it’s more important for the team to win and for me to contribute to that.”
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Armstrong has built on last season’s breakout campaign by taking his offensive game to new heights. The center fielder has developed a keen eye at the plate -- his 60 walks were more than the past two seasons combined (50) -- while maintaining plus power, elite speed and arguably the best defense in baseball.
“Simply put,” Crow-Armstrong said, “just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as he feels, it’s awesome. And it’s a nice nod. It’s cool, but I would feel much more accomplished taking them down at some point. I want to see this group in October, because I think it’ll be a dangerous, dangerous group in the playoffs.”
When Ohtani went deep off Imanaga in the first inning, it gave the slugger 25 home runs on the year. While he went 50-50 in ‘24, he only has six stolen bases this year.
Crow-Armstrong’s blast was also his 25th, but he has paired that with 28 stolen bases. The center fielder is now the only player in Cubs history to have a 25-25 showing in consecutive years. He is the sixth player in MLB history to reach that mark within his club’s first 115 games of a season multiple times, and the first to do so in back-to-back seasons.
Crow-Armstrong added his 26th homer of the season in the fourth inning, when he sent another Lauer pitch bouncing off the videoboard beyond the right-field bleachers. It marked the 31st homer off the big board since it was installed in 2015, according to the Cubs. The shot also gave Crow-Armstrong seven homers off lefties this year.
Between the blasts, Crow-Armstrong delivered an RBI double in the second inning that elicited chants of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” from his Wrigley Field audience.
“It’s fun watching Pete have this season,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “How that [MVP race] happens, who knows? I think it’s fun watching the player have this season. And it’s a season you remember. You remember seasons like this. You cherish seasons like this.”
As it turned out, Ohtani was not done yet, either. In the eighth inning, he sent a low-and-away sweeper from new Cubs reliever Ryan Zeferjahn to the opposite field. The baseball found its way just over the basket atop the wall to cap off a five-run inning, pulling the Dodgers' designated hitter into a tie with Crow-Armstrong at 26 homers apiece.
“I didn’t really appreciate the second one to even it up,” Counsell quipped. “Look, that’s two great players. They were kind of doing everything offensively for their teams.”
According to FanGraphs, Ohtani had 6.4 wins above replacement this season between offense (3.4) and pitching (3.0) going into Wednesday’s game. He ranked second in the Majors to Crow-Armstrong, who carried a 7.5 fWAR into Wednesday’s game against the Dodgers. The Cubs center fielder benefits from his exceptional defense, which has him leading MLB in fielding run value (24) and outs above average (22) right now.
Offensively, Ohtani is batting .297/.399/.554 through 105 games, with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts, while Crow-Armstrong has a .288/.386/.552 slash line through 115 games. The plus on-base percentage for the Chicago center fielder is a new part of his game, following a combined .287 OBP across the past two seasons.
They each hit .462 (6-for-13) in the three-game set at Wrigley Field.
With the Dodgers and Cubs both on a path to the postseason, Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong will continue to be at the forefront of the MVP debate. The fans inside Wrigley Field on Wednesday were given a first-hand opportunity to witness the two stars trade blows out of the chute in a marquee matchup.
“If you guys want to talk about all this back and forth,” Crow-Armstrong said, “I really should get in the lab and start pitching.”