CHICAGO — The Cubs opened a crucial three-game set against their second-place foes in the National League Central, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Seiya Suzuki was the headliner early.
But make no mistake, this 5-3 win over the Brewers will be remembered for Pete Crow-Armstrong. The center fielder was instrumental in the Cubs’ (45-28) win.
Let’s get to three takeaways from the game:
PCA – MVP
Crow-Armstrong dashed to the left center gap and seemingly plucked a Brice Turang liner with his glove inches before it touched the blades of grass in the outfield in the eighth inning.
That ball seemed destined for extra bases with Crow-Armstrong diving for it. Instead, the Cubs center fielder snagged it, recording the second out and making a play seemingly only he can. Even his pitcher, left-hander Caleb Thielbar was visibly impressed.
That elicited “PCA” chants from the 38,687 fans at Wrigley Field. It was a moment you can’t top — well, unless you’re Crow-Armstrong in 2025.
As seemingly destined from the baseball gods, Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom half of the frame. On the first pitch he saw, he delivered a no-doubt, 452-foot blast off the right field scoreboard. It was a mammoth blast off left-hander Rob Zastryzny, his 19th home run of the year.
The Wrigley Field faithful broke out another round of “PCA” chants after he touched home plate. When Brewers manager Pat Murphy trotted out to pull Zastryzny, chants of “MVP” broke out.
This is a true breakout campaign from Crow-Armstrong. He doesn’t lead National League outfielders in All-Star voting for nothing. He’s having one of those special seasons – and Tuesday will be one of those nights that you remember fondly after the fact.
Brown’s outing
Ben Brown’s first innings have been a talking point this season. That happens when you have a 10.50 ERA in the opening frame.
But the right-hander looked solid in the first inning on Tuesday – he worked around a two-out double to post a zero in the frame. Smooth sailing, right?
Well, Brown opened the second with a walk to Rhys Hoskins, then allowed a two-run home run to Isaac Colling and a single to Brice Turang. Things looked like they were teetering on the edge of a blowout inning in the second.
Except Brown settled down and recorded three straight outs. It became a running theme for Brown – he had a baserunner in all five innings he pitched, but didn’t allow any other runs beyond those two in the second. Not, too shabby.
The Cubs don’t need Brown to be the dominant righty who tossed six scoreless against the Los Angeles Dodgers in April or who threw seven no-hit innings against these Brewers last season. Sure, they’ll take that kind of performance, but outings like Tuesday’s are just as valuable.
This team needs Brown to keep them in games. They can’t be down a few runs in the first, have him leak more in an outing and then play catch-up. He kept them in the game Tuesday – and that allowed them to rally and win an important division contest.
Seiya’s smash
Seiya Suzuki delivered the Cubs’ big blow against Milwaukee on Tuesday.
His three-run home run in the fifth inning gave the Cubs the lead for good. It’s his fifth three-run home run this season. He entered the year with just two three-run blasts in his prior three seasons.
That’s a testament as much to his offensive explosion this season as it is the overall depth of the Cubs’ lineup compared to years past.
There’s enough quality up and down the Cubs’ starting nine that they can work at-bats, allowing Suzuki to come up with runners on base. Of course, hitting around Kyle Tucker and an emerging Crow-Armstrong helps, too.
The three-headed monster at the top of the Cubs’ lineup of Tucker, Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong ain’t too shabby.