CHICAGO -- Pete Crow-Armstrong hadn’t fouled a ball straight off his knee cap before. He’s now very aware of the pain that comes after.
Crow-Armstrong exited after the bottom of the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 2-1 loss to the Nationals on Saturday at Wrigley Field with a right knee contusion. Chicago (81-61) sits 6 1/2 games back of Milwaukee (88-55) in the National League Central race, while maintaining control of the top NL Wild Card spot.
On the third pitch of his plate appearance against Washington reliever PJ Poulin, Crow-Armstrong fouled an 89.5 mph sinker off his right knee. He took a timeout while manager Craig Counsell and a team trainer came out to check on him.
“It's new pain,” Crow-Armstrong said. “There's definitely [stuff] that's hurt worse, but this hurts. And the legs are just funny. That's kind of how I help the cause on a daily basis, is with my legs. It was a good stinger, for sure.”
He was allowed to stay in the game and took three consecutive balls to draw a walk, giving Chicago two on with two outs.
The ensuing batter, Nico Hoerner, hit a grounder up the middle three pitches into his at-bat. Crow-Armstrong took off and slid into second base to beat a potential play at the bag. Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams ultimately got the out at first base to end the inning with his team still ahead by one, but as the Cubs defense took the field, Crow-Armstrong remained on the ground for a few extra moments before motioning to the dugout.
He then walked -- in clear discomfort -- over to meet Counsell in foul territory. After a brief exchange, Crow-Armstrong went into the dugout and Kevin Alcántara took his place in center field.
“It was one of those moments where I just tried weighing options,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I'm no use, really, out there if I'm not moving the way I should be, so I felt that our best chance was not having me move around limply out there today.”
Postgame, Counsell said X-rays on Crow-Armstrong’s knee were negative, but noted the outfielder is “pretty sore.” It’s considered a day-to-day situation for now, and Crow-Armstrong is just focused on seeing how he feels Sunday and going from there.
It appears Chicago avoided a more severe situation with its star center fielder, which is a relief considering Kyle Tucker sat out his third consecutive game Saturday with left calf tightness.
Regardless, it’s tough timing considering Crow-Armstrong just came back from a brief spell earlier in the week.
Crow-Armstrong returned to the Cubs’ lineup during Friday’s 11-5 win, where he went 2-for-3, drove in two runs and stole his 32nd base of the year. Then on Saturday, his first at-bat resulted in a leadoff double off the ivy-filled center-field wall, and then he came around to score to knot the game at 1.
But before Friday, Crow-Armstrong was out of the starting lineup Tuesday and Wednesday (plus Thursday’s team off-day) as Counsell wanted to give him a chance to take a breath.
From Aug. 1 through Monday (29 games), Crow-Armstrong slumped. In 116 plate appearances during that stretch, he hit .163, and posted a .448 OPS and a 23 wRC+ (100 is MLB average). He also only hit one homer, scored eight times, drove in five runs and stole two bases.
Prior to that, Crow-Armstrong had hit .272 with an .868 OPS and a 137 wRC+. In those 447 plate appearances through the end of July, he’d totaled 27 homers, 74 runs, 78 RBIs and 29 steals. With extended struggles at the plate, Counsell found the three-day stretch could be an opportunity to help give Crow-Armstrong a physical and mental break.
That he came in and had some better at-bats might’ve been a sign that the reset helped. Unfortunately, he may have to take another break to let his knee heal, though how long that could be is still unclear.
Crow-Armstrong is a catalyst for this team, particularly with his Gold Glove-caliber defense in center. If he does miss time, the Cubs will have to step up in his absence.
“It stinks,” said Matthew Boyd, who tossed seven innings of two-run ball but took the loss. “Pete's a huge reason for where we are today. You never want to see any of your teammates get hurt, whether it's mild or serious. It stinks, and we know Pete's going to do what he can to get back out there as fast as he can.
“But we know that it's a next-man-up mentality. If he's not ready to go, the goal is just to win ball games for that 'C' on our chest. Whatever's needed, I know that we have the guys in the clubhouse to get that done.”