Crow-Armstrong gets party started, Cubs complete sweep of White Sox
Ian Happ probably isn't all that attached to the idea of batting leadoff. There's a chance he lost the job forever this weekend.
Pete Crow-Armstrong continued to do everything for the Cubs while filling in at the top of the batting order. PCA went 8-for-14 at the plate with 8 RBI this weekend and the Cubs completed a three-game sweep by beating the White Sox 6-2 on Sunday at Wrigley Field.
“Getting the party started is always fun,” Crow-Armstrong said after the Cubs recorded their eighth straight victory in the city series.
The Cubs’ center fielder also enjoys the party once it's rolling. He interacts with fans in the outfield, and was seen high-fiving fans at the backstop after a scoring a run. The PCA party was definitely in full effect this weekend.
“I love feeding off a good Wrigley crowd, because there's no bad day when the bleachers are filled, and they show up every day,” he said.
“Cubs fans (are) the best. It's my favorite display of sports fandom that I've been around. Obviously, I'm a little biased when I'm standing right in front of them. But it's nice when you see a lot of blue in the stands come bottom nine, and we're up.”
This game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, a pitchers' duel between the Cubs' Colin Rea and White Sox's Jonathan Cannon.
Then came one of those frustrating innings that were standard for the Sox all weekend. Vidal Brujan led off with a single, then Crow-Armstrong pulled the ball down the first baseline and when it bounced off the tarp, he made a very aggressive turn for second. Right fielder Michael A. Taylor threw to second in an effort to get PCA, but when he did that, Brujan made a break for the plate and beat Edgar Quero's tag by a few inches to score what turned out to be the winning run.
More misery followed. Left fielder Brooks Baldwin dropped Kyle Tucker's wind-blown pop up, then Tucker made a smart swim move on the slide to beat the ensuing throw to second base. A Seiya Suzuki sacrifice fly scored Crow-Armstrong, then Michael Busch singled home Tucker and the Cubs were in control with a 5-1 lead.
“I think with the elements, that added a layer of plays, probably four or five, that left us leaving here feeling like we played worse than we probably did in some areas,” Sox manager Will Venable said.
One White Sox player who rose to the occasion was third baseman Miguel Vargas. He hit his third home run of the series Sunday and finished the weekend 6-for-10 at the plate.
He also was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning, which ignited a mild flaring of tempers as Vargas exchanged words with Cubs pitcher Brad Keller.
“You guys saw what happened, so I don't have to explain,” Vargas told reporters after the game. “I just wanted to know what was his favorite restaurant.”
There was also a strange argument between Sox third base coach Justin Jirschele and third-base umpire Brennan Miller that amounted to nothing.
“Vargas was upset he got hit,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell shrugged. “There was probably some chirping from our side. Boys playing baseball.”
In the first two games of the series, the White Sox took early leads with first-inning home runs. This time, Chase Meidroth led off with a double, but was eventually cut down at the plate trying to score on a sacrifice fly as Seiya Suzuki made a perfect throw. Suzuki was DH for most of the season, but is filling in for the injured Happ in left field.
“I just told Seiya after the game, I think he's played exceptionally well this homestead in left field,” Counsell said. “Made several above average plays, took a run off the board today with a great throw. For not having played out there very much, he's doing an excellent job.”
Crow-Armstrong led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on Suzuki's sacrifice fly.
PCA led the way and the rest of the Cubs gladly followed. It might stay that way for the next decade or so.