Homer, triple, double, single.
That’s what Pete Crow-Armstrong did to land himself in the Cubs’ record books Monday, hitting for the cycle for the 13th time in club history.
But manager Craig Counsell’s favorite moment from his center fielder’s big night?
That would be plate appearance No. 5, in which Crow-Armstrong drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
A sac fly is one of baseball’s most boring ways to score a run. But it had Counsell jazzed postgame, not because it was an example of a player “doing the little things” or a key RBI in the game – though it was both, the RBI bringing the Cubs within a run an inning prior to their walk-off win – but because it showed Crow-Armstrong’s growth as a player.
Crow-Armstrong got the internet all riled up when, immediately after completing the cycle with a seventh-inning single, he was picked off first base.
“My excitement [over the cycle] was a little short lived,” Counsell laughed after the game.
Crow-Armstrong’s emotional reactions when things don’t go his way are well known to Cubs fans; they saw him slam enough bats into the ground during a second-half slump last summer.
But rather than let that pickoff eat him up and cloud his mind for the rest of the game, he moved on.
“That was a really good at-bat, and that’s a tough at-bat after you’ve done what you’ve done on the night,” Counsell said. “This is where I think there’s been improvement from Pete, to control your emotions and not try to [be like], ‘I’ve got to be the hero,’ and swing at every pitch. That’s where he’s improving.
“That was probably my favorite at-bat. It was: hit a ball hard, have a great at-bat, control yourself within the at-bat and swing at the right pitches. That’s the growth that’s exciting to see.”
It was reminiscent of a similar situation a couple weeks ago, when Crow-Armstrong lost a fly ball that landed behind him for an inside-the-park homer. Rather than be overcome by that miscue, he homered and delivered a walk-off hit in the following innings.
Does last year’s version of Crow-Armstrong do that? Maybe not, and that’s what had Counsell smiling about a sac fly on cycle night.
“I had an opportunity to let that moment, getting picked off, affect what happened, and we still had two innings to play,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s something that [Counsell] and I have addressed and discussed, or at least he’s acknowledged that he’s proud of the late-game at-bats from me and [that] when stuff doesn’t necessarily go my way, I still have the power to pick myself up but pick my teammates up, as well.”
Cabrera’s early exit
The Cubs got another injury scare involving one of their starting pitchers Tuesday when righty Edward Cabrera left in the fifth inning of a 5-2 loss to the Rockies with a hand cramp.
“All things considered, he’s good. It’s a cramp right now, as far as we can tell. All the other tests are clean and negative,” Counsell said after the game. “There’s no other concerns. Right now, we just see it as a cramp.”
Cabrera, the Cubs’ big pitching acquisition last offseason, struggled again, and his ERA is at 5.21 after allowing five runs in Tuesday’s loss.
For his next trick
How did Crow-Armstrong follow up his cycle? With yet another leadoff home run, his third in the last four games.
Crow-Armstrong started the bottom of the first inning Tuesday with a blast out to right field, his 14th long ball of the season and yet another big moment during a scalding hot stretch that’s seen him hit .435 since May 30 with eight home runs and 15 extra-base hits.
Next step for Boyd
Lefty Matthew Boyd’s return from a stay on the injured list progressed further with a positively reviewed bullpen session Tuesday.
According to Counsell, the team’s Opening Day starter will head out on a minor league rehab assignment before stepping back into a banged-up big league rotation that could certainly use his services.
Boyd was set to return last weekend before the team slowed down his comeback due to shoulder soreness.