Crow-Armstrong not in Monday’s lineup due to knee soreness
Pete Crow-Armstrong was not in the Cubs’ starting lineup Monday against Kansas City because of a bruised right knee. Manager Craig Counsell said it happened on a slide during Sunday's loss to Boston.
“He just banged it up, woke up and it felt a little swollen,” Counsell said before Monday's contest. “So we're just going to try to give him the day today. And hopefully back in there tomorrow.”
Counsell suspected the play where Crow-Armstrong was picked off second base and then caught in a rundown in the second inning was likely when it happened. Eventually, PCA headed to third and made an awkward slide, with both his knees hitting the ground first, instead of his normal, headfirst style.
Counsell came out to argue that pitcher Garrett Crochet, who came over to cover third in the rundown, should have been called for blocking the base illegally. Umpires didn't agree.
“(Crow-Armstrong) is not completely sure when it happened, but if you look at the replays, it was likely on that one,” Counsell said. “That's why it was a blocking-the-bag situation because the slide was clearly altered. If you watch the slide and replay, it's not a normal-looking slide. And further reason that was blocking the bag.”
The Cubs gave Seiya Suzuki his first career MLB start in center field Monday. The one time Crow-Armstrong got a day off this season, Vidal Brujan played center on June 11 in Philadelphia.
Suzuki played right field almost exclusively in his first three years with the Cubs. This year, while primarily serving as designated hitter, Suzuki has started 16 games in right field and 13 in left. Ian Happ has 199 career starts in center field, but moved to left in 2022.
“This is not a scenario we want to consider a lot, obviously, just because we want Pete in there,” Counsell said. “In spring training, we kind of used both those guys (Suzuki and Happ). It wasn't a big sample for either of those guys. In the end, just leaving Ian where he's at and putting Seiya out there.”