DETROIT -- As Seiya Suzuki discussed Pete Crow-Armstrong on Saturday afternoon, the Cubs’ designated hitter positioned his hands in front of his chest, pretending to hold a small child. Suzuki then cracked a smile after his one-liner was delivered to reporters via an interpreter.
“Everything that Pete does is like a little kid,” Suzuki said in Japanese. “I feel like Pete is like my little brother.”
In a 6-1 win over the Tigers, Suzuki launched a pair of home runs to power a five-homer day for Chicago’s lineup and back a fifth straight quality start for righty Jameson Taillon. Crow-Armstrong also cleared the fence at Comerica Park, giving him 17 shots on the season to maintain a one-homer lead on Suzuki for the most on the team.
When Crow-Armstrong was asked about Suzuki describing their relationship as a big brother vs. little brother dynamic, the Cubs' center fielder gave an amused roll of the eyes. Then again, Crow-Armstrong is enjoying playing the role of the little bro who is showing that he can keep up.
“Yeah,” Crow-Armstrong said, “and then a little bit of like rubbing it in his face when I’m just a little bit ahead. If that’s any real motivation outside of what we want to do here, then that’s great and that’s fun. It’s light-hearted stuff, so that’s good for me. Seiya, he happens to bring that out of me.”
The Cubs’ lineup is better for their budding buddy-comedy relationship, too.
Suzuki went deep off Detroit’s opener, Tyler Holton, in the first inning and later added a solo blast off reliever Chase Lee in the eighth to give him 16 home runs on the season. Crow-Armstrong’s leadoff shot in the seventh was one of three belted by the Cubs against Tigers righty Keider Montero.
Michael Busch also connected for a two-run homer in the fifth inning that marked the hardest-hit blast of the first baseman’s career at 110 mph, per Statcast. Rookie Matt Shaw got in on the fun in the seventh with a solo homer that was his first since March 29 and the first home run this season for a Cubs starting third baseman.
For a Chicago offense that is known for its blend of speed and versatility, sitting back and letting power carry the day was a nice change of pace.
“I think it speaks to just a different way to win a game,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We hit some homers today -- didn’t do much else. But the homers are good. When you hit five homers, that’s a pretty good day. The guys did a good job getting the ball in the air and getting some pitches to drive.”
The five home runs matched the Cubs’ season high for a game (also done on April 18 against the D-backs). Suzuki and Carson Kelly are the only players to homer in both of those games, offering yet another example of how Chicago’s lineup has featured production from top to bottom throughout the first two-plus months of this season.
“It’s a really deep lineup,” Taillon said. “We can beat you by hitting homers. We can beat you by stealing bases, taking the extra base, working counts. Some days we’re aggressive when that’s the game plan. Some days we’re letting pitchers come to us a little bit and getting guys out early in games. It’s been a lot of fun to watch.”
And within all that, there has been the mini-competition brewing between Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong.
Suzuki has the lead over Crow-Armstrong in RBIs by one (55-54) and has posted a higher OPS (.895) than the center fielder (.876). In the power department, the duo shares the same slugging percentage (.563) at the moment. And, of course, Crow-Armstrong had to get in Suzuki’s ear about holding that one-homer edge.
“Pete was saying that he’s the power leader of the team,” Suzuki said.
“I let him know today that he had to hit two, and I still got him,” Crow-Armstrong joked. “I said, any day that he hits a homer, I’m going to have to do it as well.”
Suzuki was asked if he will finish the season as the “power leader” among the two.
“If you look at my body, yes,” Suzuki quipped.
Suzuki certainly has the more muscular frame, compared to the wiry, strong build of Crow-Armstrong. The fiery little-brother boost is working for the center fielder right now, and the pair of teammates are just enjoying the friendly banter, even with the language barrier.
“He’s getting there with his English and everything -- at least what he understands,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But happiness after homers and stuff? That’s great and universal. We like having a good time here.”