Still not enough: PCA breaks slump, but Cubs don’t join him
The Cubs found out Friday, breaking their offensive slump one player at a time is not going to work.
Pete Crow-Armstrong was the center of everything. He collected 3 hits, reached base four times, came up limping after a diving attempt in center field and made two outs on the bases.
The rest of the Cubs managed just 3 hits combined and they lost 3-2 to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. It was the third time in six days the Cubs dropped a low-scoring one-run game.
Chicago native Jack Suwinski homered off Daniel Palencia in the top of the ninth to provide the tiebreaking run.
The first concern was Crow-Armstrong's health. He was hobbled after diving for an RBI double in the top of the seventh inning, then again after being hit by a pitch and circling the bases in the bottom of the inning.
The wheels seemed fine when PCA led off the ninth with a single and stole second base with ease on the next pitch. The problem was, Crow-Armstrong overslid the bag on the steal attempt and was called out. The game ended two batters later.
“He banged his knee, similar to the injury on the slide against Boston that he missed a game with,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “He was a little shook up right after, I guess. But good enough to stay in the game.”
Crow-Armstrong did not speak to reporters after the game. Heading into Friday's action, Crow-Armstrong was hitting .073 in August (3 for 41). After getting Thursday off in Toronto, he seemed back to his old self.
“I think he had a really good day,” Counsell said. “I think it's the kind of day we're hoping that he has. Offensively, he's such a big part of how we're going to be successful.”
For everyone else, the slumps continued. Kyle Tucker is 0-for-14 over the last four games, Ian Happ is 1 for his last 16. Seiya Suzuki doubled and scored on a PCA single, but the Cubs fell to 3-7 in their last 10 games.
“I think this group knows we can play better baseball than we have the past couple of weeks,” Happ said. “There's nothing we can do but come out tomorrow and do it again.”
These are gloomy times at otherwise sunny Wrigley Field, but Counsell provided something of a pep talk in the interview room after the game.
“We're upset we lost the game, but we sit right here with an incredible opportunity,” he said. “That opportunity requires us to go beat the other guy. But we've earned a great opportunity. That's how I'm looking at this and I think it's a great way to see it. We've got 40-ish games and we've got it in our hands.”
Winning the NL Central might seem futile, but the Cubs finished Friday's game tied with the Dodgers for the top wild-card spot in the NL. Getting the No. 4 seed would mean hosting all three games of a wild-card round.
Before the game, Counsell had another interesting take on the state of the Cubs, which he mentioned when a question referenced the team going through some bad times right now.
“That's not what's happening,” Counsell said. “This is baseball happening, and you've got to be tough enough to roll with that. You can't fall into that thought, because nothing bad is happening.
“You get trapped into results, of course. We know results is what matters here. But for us to focus on results is harmful. You focus on the things that contribute to us being good. Those are the right things to focus on, those things make you better.”
Well on Saturday, maybe Crow-Armstrong should lecture his teammates about how to snap out of a slump. That might makes things better.