As Hippo Campus, a local rock band, wrapped up its rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch Thursday, the Wrigley Field speakers began blaring another classic tune heard at sporting events around town: “Bear Down, Chicago Bears.”
Then a moment later, the video board at the historic ballpark showed a trio of Chicago athletes: Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Bulls forwards Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis, along with Cole Bennett, an Illinois native who started the video production company Lyrical Lemonade. The quartet was seated in the first row behind the home dugout down the third-base line and donned Cubs jerseys.
Williams had on a Pete Crow-Armstrong jersey, then, along with his mini celebrity row, helped the majority of the 39,018 in attendance break out in a “PCA, PCA” chant for the Cubs center fielder.
“Awesome having them here,” said Crow-Armstrong, who was named the NL Player of the Month before the game. “I felt the energy from the crowd when they got put on the board. Chicago’s got a lot to look forward to with those three.”
Photos: Chicago Cubs 2, Milwaukee Brewers 1
Crow-Armstrong is giving the city plenty to cheer about too. The 24-year-old fortified his NL Most Valuable Player case with a decisive two-run home run — his 39th of the season — in the third inning of the Cubs’ 2-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The win salvaged a split for the Cubs (79-62).
“That was cool that they were down there,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I know Pete’s got a relationship with some of those guys, so that was very cool.”
The Cubs head to Miami for a weekend series against the Marlins before facing the Brewers again, this time in Milwaukee beginning Monday. They trail the first-place Brewers by eight games with 21 remaining but pulled within a half-game of the idle Philadelphia Phillies for the top National League wild-card spot.
Crow-Armstrong’s home run, and his famous fan club, partially stole the show from a dominant — and much-needed — pitching performance from Kevin Gausman. The right-hander twirled seven innings of one-run ball and struck out nine in the process.
“That’s kind of all you want from someone we pick up at the deadline,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Smart guy, and it clearly looked like him and (catcher Carson Kelly) were working well together tonight. But Gaus was absolutely dominant.”
Gausman did it by relying on his bread and butter: his fastball-splitter combo. The 35-year-old threw 103 pitches, and 98 of them were one of those two offerings. The splitter kept the Brewers off-balance, garnering 12 whiffs, and the fastball kept them from cheating on the softer pitch.
“When I can do that and throw strikes consistently, and the split is carrying the zone, I’m pretty hard to beat,” Gausman said. “Add that with Carson calling a great game and the defense behind me, and just a good night of just making pitches when I had to.”
It was a pivotal outing after how the last two nights had gone for the Cubs.
Cubs starter Kevin Gausman reacts after working out of a jam against the Brewers in the top of the fifth inning Sept. 3, 2026, at Wrigley FIeld. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
On Tuesday, left-hander Matthew Boyd exited with a two-run lead and a pair of runners on in the sixth, only to see the bullpen surrender the two runs and allow six more to score in a 9-4 loss. David Peterson didn’t make it out of the fourth inning Wednesday, allowing six runs, and the bullpen permitted three more in a 9-5 loss.
Gausman’s outing Thursday meant Counsell didn’t have to rely on the beleaguered relief corps early in the game. Then, when Counsell did turn to them to pick up the final six outs, right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn and left-hander Ryan Rolison each pitched a perfect inning.
“Look, we need some good outings from our bullpen, and those guys need good outings to feel good about how they’re throwing. That’s life, right?” Counsell said. “You need some good things to happen to you to feel good about the next time you do it, and they were both excellent today.”
The pitching performance came just a few hours after Counsell confirmed that right-hander Ben Brown would miss the rest of the season with the stress reaction in his neck that has kept him out of action since late June.
Brown had pitched in a bridge game in Arizona at the Cubs facility Aug. 25 but experienced symptoms after the outing. Imaging confirmed that you “can still see signs of an injury,” Counsell said. Brown will rest to allow it to heal before ramping up for 2027. It’s the second time this injury has caused him to miss the rest of a season after a similar issue ended his 2024 campaign.
“Of course it’s an injury that’s happened multiple times, I think it’s a concern,” Counsell said before Thursday’s win. “But in the end, we’re going to get to spring next year, and Ben’s going to be a healthy player, and he’s going to have to go out and do what everybody else does because that’s the job.”
Edward Cabrera (right middle finger blister) and Shelby Miller (right elbow surgery) are expected to pitch Friday with Triple-A Iowa, with Miller potentially pitching on back-to-back days.
“I’d say those are the two guys that are kind of closest and in action,” Counsell said.
Despite the pitching concerns and questions that have emerged in the last two weeks or so, Crow-Armstrong has continued to put on a show that is impressing across the sports landscape. His friends on other teams around the city are reveling in it too.
“I think just that in itself, just the friendship alone is great, and I’m lucky to have that,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But to be able to show the city that we’re all pulling for each other and we all believe in each other is huge.”
Andy Martinez is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.