Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong’s home run vs. Pirates unlocks MLB first

Andrew Heaney’s fastball crossed the plate about shoulder-high on Pete Crow-Armstrong. Despite the lefty-on-lefty matchup and the location, Crow-Armstrong got off a smooth swing and launched the ball halfway up the right-field bleachers.

“What you’ve seen in 30 years of baseball says it’s hard to hit balls for home runs,” manager Craig Counsell said after the Cubs’ 3-2 win against the Pirates on Thursday. “He has proven me wrong.”

Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer in the fourth inning provided the first runs. The Cubs hadn’t even had a hit until earlier in the inning, when Kyle Tucker hit a line-drive single up the middle.

Adding that swing above the zone to his proven power below the zone, Crow-Armstrong became the first player to homer on one pitch at least 3.9 feet off the ground and another less than 0.9 feet off the ground in the same season in the Statcast era (since 2015), according to mlb.com.

“There’s really no clear way to attack him,” Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon said.

Two innings later, Seiya Suzuki hit a solo homer. He and Crow-Armstrong have joked about competing for the team home-run lead. And Suzuki’s 17th homer trimmed Crow-Armstrong’s lead back down to one.

Those were the only runs the Cubs scored. But the pitching staff ensured that three runs would be enough.

Taillon’s performance drew a standing ovation from the Wrigley Field crowd as he walked off the field with one out in the seventh inning. He held the Pirates to four hits and was charged with two runs.

“Words like ‘consistent’ and ‘reliable’ sometimes don’t feel like they do Jameson enough justice, honestly, with what he’s done,” Counsell said before the game.

Brad Keller relieved Taillon with two runners on. He allowed one inherited runner to score. Then Daniel Palencia and Ryan Pressly combined to retire six consecutive batters.

Injury updates

Catcher Miguel Amaya (strained left oblique) is set to start throwing Friday.

“Still a ways away here,” Counsell said. “Still essentially in the healing process.”

Right-hander Javier Assad (strained left oblique) is in the bullpen phase of his rehab, with a session scheduled this weekend.