PITTSBURGH — The bat drop said it all in the moment for Pete Crow-Armstrong.
A prodigious home run pace in the first half — 27 in an 83-game stretch — had vanished amid Crow-Armstrong’s pronounced post-All-Star-break struggles. The Chicago Cubs center fielder came into Monday’s series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates with only six extra-base hits in his last 150 plate appearances spanning 38 games.
Missing hittable pitches has plagued Crow-Armstrong. He has logged plenty of extra pregame cage work trying to recapture the timing and swing that fueled a major-league-best Cubs offense.
For the first time since Aug. 22 — and only the second time in the last seven weeks — Crow-Armstrong went deep Monday in the Cubs’ 4-0 victory. He knew it off the bat, immediately dropping his lumber while watching the no-doubt home run.
Such moments are part of what makes the 23-year-old special. The strong contingent of Cubs fans at PNC Park broke out the “M-V-Pete” chants that had been a regular celebratory cheer during his torrid first-half performance.
Crow-Armstrong’s 414-foot solo homer to right-center field in the sixth inning gave the Cubs a four-run lead. The advantage held thanks to Jameson Taillon’s six shutout innings, Michael Soroka’s two scoreless innings in his return from the injured list and Brad Keller’s strikeout of Jared Triolo for a one-out save after Porter Hodge loaded the bases in the ninth.
Coupled with a San Francisco Giants loss, the Cubs magic number to clinch a playoff spot dropped to two.
“Every game that I’m frustrated about, every game that I’m really happy about in the regular season, every game means so much — like, that’s how I decide to approach this sport,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But having been here the whole year and seeing our team’s trajectory and being so confident in our situation, I’m excited for playoff baseball when the room for error is a little more minimal and every out does really count.
“It’s all a wash. I’m taking whatever feelings I’ve got into that day, into that game, so absolutely I’m ready to go compete and keep this (stuff) going.”
Crow-Armstrong also doubled and stole third base in the fourth. It marked his first game with two extra-base hits since July 30. If he hits one more home run in the next 12 games, he would join Sammy Sosa as only the second Cub with a 30-homer, 30-steal season.
“In the first half, when we were putting up a ton of runs, he was a focal point of our offense,” Taillon said. “He was really a centerpiece for us. It’s awesome to see him running all over the field. When he has a dirty uniform at the end of a game, that’s a good sign.
“It’d be awesome to get him really locked back in. I know he’s been putting in a ton of work. Everyone’s rooting for him. I think if (the TV camera) showed our dugout’s reaction when he hit that, just pure joy for him.”
Crow-Armstrong knows one swing can change how things are trending at the plate, though he acknowledged he’s not good at applying that yet.
“I still carry a lot of impatience in terms of wanting to produce, be a part of what’s really good about our offense, what’s been really good about our offense all year,” he said. “When you’re killing rallies and when you feel like you’re not driving in runs that should be driven, then the impatience becomes a little more heightened.
“I just need to do a better job of really buying into one swing can change it: one feel, a jam shot, a bunt. Like playing the game, not just trying to hit a freaking homer to get out of something.”