Pete Crow-armstrong Drives Cubs Past Giants With 2 Homers
pete crow-armstrong hit two home runs and helped the Cubs beat the Giants 3-2 in 10 innings on June 6. One of the swings came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, keeping Chicago alive before the walk-off finish.
Crow-Armstrong Powers Chicago
The center fielder’s night started with power and ended with pressure. He finished with two homers against San Francisco, and the second one turned a late deficit into a game the Cubs could keep extending into extra innings.
That performance came during a stretch when Crow-Armstrong had already been pulled into a louder spotlight. Chicago had signed him to a six-year, $115 million extension before Opening Day, then watched him get booed at Dodger Stadium in April after comments in a Chicago magazine cover story about fans. He also had a viral profane exchange with a Chicago White Sox fan on the South Side.
Craig Counsell’s Message
Craig Counsell’s message to Crow-Armstrong was simple: “We get to play this game” and “We’re all lucky enough to be able to show up every day.” Crow-Armstrong later repeated that idea in his own words, saying, “I’m growing up in the middle of all of it” and “Contrary to what a lot of people probably believe, I’m absolutely getting better for all the downs, and the ups as well.”
Crow-Armstrong also described Counsell’s comment as “just shooting the s—.” The point landed during a season in which the Cubs had slipped from leading the division by 3 ½ games to trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 6 ½ games in the National League Central by June 6.
Numbers Behind The Surge
The production is showing up everywhere. After Memorial Day, Crow-Armstrong’s OPS was still in the.670s, but he entered Sunday with 12 home runs and 16 stolen bases at 24 years old. Baseball Reference had him at 3.9 WAR heading into Sunday’s games.
The defense has been just as loud as the power. Crow-Armstrong entered Sunday first in the majors in Fielding Run Value with 15, tied for first in Defensive Runs Saved with 15, and second in Outs Above Average with 13. Ian Happ summed up the learning curve this way: “He’s still learning his approach.”
For the Cubs, the number that mattered most on June 6 was 3-2. For Crow-Armstrong, the bigger test is whether the bat keeps matching the glove while Chicago tries to climb back in the division race.
