CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong has called his ability to hit pitches that drop below the strike zone both a blessing and a curse. When the Cubs center fielder gets a hold of one, he can do a lot of damage, but there is always a heightened risk of a swing and miss.
In a 2-1 win over the Rockies on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field, the Cubs were counting their blessings.
Crow-Armstrong attacked an 0-1 curveball from Colorado starter Tanner Gordon that dove well under the strike zone in the fourth inning. The center fielder connected, sending the ball arcing high down the right-field line, where it crashed into the stands for Crow-Armstrong’s 15th home run of the season.
“It’s unique, the damage he can do below the strike zone,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “But that’s the point -- it’s damage. It’s home runs. It’s extra-base hits. When he gets a ball that’s just below the strike zone, it’s a little bit of his go-zone. It’s his hot zone. That’s really unique.”
With that blast, Crow-Armstrong gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead that proved sufficient to back a strong six-inning outing by lefty Matthew Boyd and set up the bullpen to handle the rest. The center fielder also made a bit of history in the process.
Crow-Armstrong became just the fifth player on record to reach at least 15 homers and 15 stolen bases in his team’s first 56 games -- and the first in 22 years. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, that short list includes Alfonso Soriano (2003), Eric Davis (1987), Bobby Bonds (1975) and Ken Williams (1922).
Crow-Armstrong cracked a smile when told he was the fastest to a 15-15 season in Cubs history.
“Baseball’s got a lot of funny stats,” he replied. “It’s too early in the year for me to look at a stat like that and be really taken back, I guess.”
The curveball that Crow-Armstrong crushed was just 1.08 feet off the ground, per Statcast, making it the second-lowest pitch hit for a homer in this MLB season. The only one lower was 0.86 feet off the ground and it was launched against the Brewers on May 2 by -- you guessed it -- Crow-Armstrong. In fact, he has three of the four lowest pitches hit for homers since the start of the ‘24 season.
The leadoff homer in the fourth also gave Crow-Armstrong 50 RBIs on the year, moving him into the half-century club with teammate Seiya Suzuki. Crow-Armstrong is tied for second (Boston’s Rafael Devers) in MLB in that category -- one behind Suzuki, who delivered an RBI double in the first inning for No. 51. Per team historian Ed Hartig, Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong are the first Cubs teammates to reach 50 RBIs apiece in the team’s first 56 games of a season.
“I love Seiya,” Crow-Armstrong said. “When Seiya’s hot, it’s some of the most beautiful baseballs being hit, I think, that you can kind of find. If you appreciate the game, you appreciate Seiya back-spinning a baseball. He’s just one of the better hitters I’ve ever seen.”
Crow-Armstrong has also seen his own stardom grow over the past several weeks.
Not only has he pieced together a 15-15 showing to date, but Crow-Armstrong has 13 doubles, three triples, 43 runs scored and an .866 OPS in his 56 games played. The center fielder currently leads the National League in fWAR at 3.1, sitting just above Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani (3.0).
“He’s super fun to watch,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “And I love the way he plays with, like, palpable enthusiasm, I guess is the way I would say it. I think that that’s contagious. Fans love that.”
Still, the 23-year-old Crow-Armstrong knows he can keep improving.
On Tuesday night, for example, Crow-Armstrong was admittedly beating himself internally over going 0-for-5. Then in the 11th inning, he started on second base, stole third and scored the game-tying run in an eventual 4-3 win over the Rockies. In the wake of that victory, Crow-Armstrong felt his perspective shift.
“[It was] looking at making that last out in the 10th as a blessing,” he said. “Because I got to be on second base and steal a bag. Yeah, having a day like yesterday is always [hard], but when we win it all goes away.”
And on Wednesday, his home run -- on a pitch he golfed out to right field -- helped the Cubs pull off a sweep of the Rockies.
“That was my pitching wedge,” Crow-Armstrong quipped.