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Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a grand slam during the seventh inning against the Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 23, 2025, in Cincinnati. (Jeff Dean\/Getty Images)<\/p>\nCINCINNATI \u2014 Pete Crow-Armstrong knows other teams are aware of his hitting tendency.<\/p>\n
He likes to swing the bat, and where the ball is \u2014 or isn\u2019t \u2014 in the zone doesn\u2019t tend to matter. The Chicago Cubs\u2019 23-year-old center fielder has proved he\u2019s capable of making contact and doing damage in all types of situations. Even when he might be looking for a different pitch than the one thrown.<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong geared up for Cincinnati Reds right-hander Tony Santillan to attack him with a first-pitch fastball with the bases loaded in the seventh inning Friday as the Cubs trailed by two runs. Instead, the two-pitch-mix reliever went to his slider, one that hung down the middle of the plate. Crow-Armstrong didn\u2019t miss and pulled the pitch down the line, but it wasn\u2019t immediately clear if he stayed back on it enough to keep the ball fair.<\/p>\n
He stood in the batter\u2019s box and leaned back watching the ball\u2019s flight. When the ball dinged off the right-field foul pole, a euphoric Crow-Armstrong tossed his bat toward the Cubs dugout and pounded his chest before rounding the bases to celebrate the grand slam and second home run of the game.<\/p>\n
His slam, the first of his career, gave the Cubs a lead they wouldn\u2019t relinquish. The Cubs went on to score 11 unanswered runs over the final three innings en route to a 13-6 win over the Reds. Seiya Suzuki (three-run home run) and Dansby Swanson (two-run blast) provided important insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of times in baseball where sometimes you don\u2019t even know what pitch was thrown, just because stuff syncs up and that was that,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said of the grand slam. \u201cI was just ready for heater. I don\u2019t think that the slider was really in my mind or anything like that. It was just up enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a sport where you should appreciate those moments, and we\u2019ve had a lot of those this year, so it\u2019s been nice to be able to cherish those.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grand-slam ball had a kiss-the-stars trajectory as it skied toward the foul pole, its 43-degree launch angle making it just the eighth to go at least that high for a Cubs home run in the Statcast era (since 2015). Off the bat, the Cubs experienced varying anticipation whether the ball would stay inside the foul pole. Crow-Armstrong thought it was heading foul, noting, \u201cI\u2019m glad we didn\u2019t have any Wrigley wind.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually thought it was way fair,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cSo when it kept curving I was getting a little nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Swanson: \u201cI was shocked it stayed fair. That\u2019s what happens when you\u2019ve got a good swing, the bat stays in the zone for a long time and obviously gives you a lot of margin for error. He hit it good, glad he\u2019s on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a grand slam during the seventh inning against the Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 23, 2025, in Cincinnati. (Jeff Dean\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Cubs (31-20) have won eight of the last 10 games. With their 13 runs Friday, they recorded their MLB-best 11th game with 10-plus runs, the franchise\u2019s most through the first 51 games of a season since 1898, according to Elias Sports Bureau.<\/p>\n
Crow-Armstrong was part of rare company following his performance against the Reds.<\/p>\n
He became just the third major-leaguer since RBIs became an official stat in 1920 with at least 14 home runs, 14 stolen bases and 45 RBIs through his team\u2019s first 51 games, joining the Reds\u2019 Eric Davis (1987) and St. Louis Browns\u2019 Ken Williams (1922).
\nHis 14 home runs have come in his last 34 games, making Crow-Armstrong just the third Cubs hitter since 1901 to record at least 14 across any 34-game single-season span, joining Sammy Sosa (twice, latter in 2002) and Hank Sauer (twice, latter in 1954).
\nHis two games with at least six RBIs ties the Cubs\u2019 single-season record, last done by Kris Bryant in 2016, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Only two other National League players 23 or younger \u2014 Wilmer Flores (2014) and Mel Ott (1930) \u2014 have recorded multiple games of six or more RBIs in a season, both of whom had two.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no question that Pete\u2019s doing some things very uniquely right now and he does some things that other guys can\u2019t do, and that\u2019s so much fun to watch,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cThat\u2019s why you hear people chant his name all the time, and the fans see that too. So we\u2019re lucky to be able to watch something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/CTC-Z-CUBS-REDS_8a7cbd.jpg\")
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong watches hit grand slam off the right-field foul pole during the seventh inning against the Reds on May 23, 2025, in Cincinnati. (Carolyn Kaster\/AP)<\/p>\n
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Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson reacts as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the ninth inning against the Reds on May 23, 2025, in Cincinnati. (Carolyn Kaster\/AP)<\/p>\n