MILWAUKEE — The Cubs fans who had infiltrated American Family Field — or, as they have nicknamed it, “Wrigley North” — to get under the skin of Brewers fans made their voices heard as Pete Crow-Armstrong stared down left-hander Jose Quintana on a full count.
“P-C-A! P-C-A!” they chanted in the fourth inning of the Cubs’ 6-2 victory Saturday.
Crow-Armstrong extended his swing on a fastball on the upper outside corner of the strike zone and watched it fly.
It landed in the Cubs’ bullpen, and Cubs fans in the stands erupted in cheers.
“I’m so impressed with the turnouts that we get here over the last few years,” Crow-Armstrong said after the game. “It’s so fun. It feels like a second home in a sense.”
It was Crow-Armstrong’s third home run in two games and his ninth since April 13. He went into the day tied with the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh for the most homers in that span.
While the long ball has stood out, Crow-Armstrong hasn’t sacrificed batting average in the pursuit of power, hitting .343 during the same stretch.
“He’s got a pretty big personality, and I feel like he just hasn’t lost that at all,” said starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, who held the Brewers to two runs in six innings. “And that’s a testament to everyone in the Cubs’ organization for letting him shine bright. Because I feel like a lot of times, young guys [in the big leagues], people want to tell them to stay quiet or whatever. And I feel like we’ve done a good job of being like, ‘No, go be yourself, go be a dude, be a star.’ ’’
Crow-Armstrong plays fast, with expressive body language. He has shown up to spring training the last two years with blue hair. Last spring, it was his whole head. This spring, it was blue stars on a bleach-blond backdrop.
“I love it,” manager Craig Counsell said of Crow-Armstrong’s showmanship.
Said Crow-Armstrong: “People have just given me the green light to go be myself and kind of without question. So, grateful for that because it’s probably a different story if I am getting held back.”
That green light hasn’t been limited to his teammates and coaches.
In the front office, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer got Crow-Armstrong to change his jersey number to 4 by wagering it on a basketball shot. Assistant GM Jared Banner has known Crow-Armstrong since they were with the Mets, having to talk with the young prospect when he overslept for his first COVID-19 test.
As the regular P-C-A chants indicate — from Chicago, to Tokyo, to Milwaukee — he has become a fan favorite.
Kyle Tucker and Dansby Swanson also homered, but Crow-Armstrong did the heavy lifting with his three-run blast.
“That was one of my more professional at-bats,” Crow-Armstrong said. “And it’s funny, I just talked about the plan a lot more today, and it clearly worked for a lot of us today.”
After falling behind 1-2, Crow-Armstrong watched two balls to force Quintana back into the strike zone, albeit on the edge. He pulled that pitch into right-center.
Crow-Armstrong turned toward the bullpen as he headed toward second, rubbing three fingers together.
“Pitchers drop their hats for home-run calls,” he said. “And [Daniel Palencia] was smart, and he came over and asked me what at-bat I was going to hit a home run. And I said the second at-bat. Yeah, Danny was freaking out for a good reason over there.”