PCA gains ground on Ohtani as Cubs sweep Dodgers
The National League MVP race played out in real time on Wednesday at Wrigley Field.
Four-time winner Shohei Ohtani opened the game with a rocket line drive into the right-field bleachers on a 3-2 pitch from Shota Imanaga. In the bottom of the first inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong sent Eric Lauer's very first pitch into the seats for the answer.
Crow-Armstrong provided some insight later, which suggested his home run was a stand-alone event.
“I made up my mind three hours before that I was going to swing at the first pitch today, if it was there,” PCA said. “I feel like I had taken the first pitch of the game for the last couple weeks, and I felt like I was due to just try and get one.”
It was a solid strategy, for sure. PCA and Ohtani each hit a pair of home runs, Crow-Armstrong added an RBI double, and the Cubs finished off a three-game sweep of the Dodgers 7-6.
The Cubs led 7-1 until a pair of home runs, by Max Muncy and Ohtani, closed the gap. But Jacob Webb retired the side in the ninth for his sixth save.
This happened on a day when manager Craig Counsell decided to give Crow-Armstrong a bit of a rest and used him as designated hitter while playing Trent Taylor in center field.
PCA said he enjoyed sitting back and taking in the Ohtani Show, one half of the MVP race.
“I definitely just enjoy watching him play baseball,” PCA said. “So I guess today for me, what was cool was just getting to watch him from a different angle and not worrying about trying to catch balls that are hit at 1,000 miles an hour.
“A 10-pitch at-bat to start the game, finish it off with 110 (mph) ball at 20 degrees is pretty ridiculous. I was joking with (Dodgers third base coach) Dino (Ebel) after that because he was giving me some crap for not being able to play center field every day. I was like, 'Well, it took your guy 10 pitches, only took me one.'”
The Dodgers have lost six in a row, while the Cubs (66-49) reached a season-high 17 games above .500. Playoff success might be more important, but it's fair to say this MVP battle is great entertainment, although this was the last regular-season meeting between these teams.
Counsell even admitted getting caught up in the beauty of great players reaching their peak.
“I think it's fun watching Pete have this season,” he said. “It's a season you remember. You cherish seasons like this from individual players, you just do. That's the best part.”
By game's end, Ohtani ranked second in OPS at .953, behind Houston's Yordan Alvarez. Crow-Armstrong is fourth at .938. Both players have 26 home runs. Ohtani has taken a break from pitching due to a sore knee, while PCA is rated statistically as the best fielder in the game. Current odds on FanDuel have PCA and Ohtani dead even for MVP.
“I would be crazy to say that I don't want to win an MVP,” Crow-Armstrong said. “But if we're talking about having priorities straight, like I think mine are pretty straight, it's not on the forefront of my mind. It's fun to joke about, and it's fun to acknowledge, but again, it's not following me up to the plate.
“Just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as (Ohtani) feels, it's awesome, and it's a nice nod.”
For his part, Ohtani didn't have much to say about the MVP race in the visitors clubhouse. Ohtani started with an AL MVP award when he played for the Angels in 2021. He finished second in '22 and has since won three in a row, the last two coming with the Dodgers.
“(Crow-Armstrong) is a great player, but I'm really focused on myself and the hitting side of things,” Ohtani said through a translator. “I'm really working toward hopefully getting back on the mound as well.”
The Cubs broadcast reported this was the first game in MLB history where both teams had a leadoff, left-on-left home run. That could be true, and Crow-Armstrong has come a long way with handling left-handed pitchers. Last year, his OPS against lefties was .594. It's now .937.
“I'm proud of the success I've had against left-handed pitching,” he said. “It's been a lot of work to get there. I take a lot of pride in seeing myself in the leadoff spot against left-handed starters; and it's obviously been somewhat of a newer thing, not getting pinch-hit for against these really good lefties.”
mmcgraw@dailyherald.com