Pete Crow-Armstrong said he always believed he could produce at this level after his two-run homer provided the only offense the Chicago Cubs needed in a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night.
“I think deep down I knew I was capable of this kind of production,” the Cubs center fielder told Ken Rosenthal in a postgame interview.
Crow-Armstrong golfed a low changeup from Brewers starter Logan Henderson 413 feet to the basket in center field in the third inning, scoring Carson Kelly and giving Chicago a 2-0 lead it never relinquished.
The 24-year-old All-Star finished 1-for-4 and now has 39 home runs, one behind Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead.
Kevin Gausman, acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline, delivered seven sharp innings, allowing one run on five hits with nine strikeouts and one walk to improve to 9-11.
Andrew Vaughn answered with a solo homer in the fourth for Milwaukee, but that was all the Brewers could muster against Gausman and two relievers.
Ryan Rolison worked a 1-2-3 ninth for the save as the Cubs salvaged a split of the four-game series at Wrigley Field.
Chicago sits at 79-62, eight games behind the NL Central-leading Brewers, who are 87-54. Milwaukee holds a 6-4 edge in the season series and will host the Cubs for three games next week.
Crow-Armstrong is slashing .280/.375/.571 with 93 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in 141 games. He has already posted back-to-back 30-homer, 30-steal seasons, the first Cub to do so.
He was named NL Player of the Month for August after hitting 14 home runs, and he recently added a three-homer game and a cycle earlier this season.
Henderson (9-3) was nearly as good, allowing two runs on three hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. The rookie had allowed just five runs across his previous four starts.
The Cubs managed only three hits total but made the one big swing count in a low-scoring pitchers’ duel that featured 16 strikeouts combined from the starters.
Crow-Armstrong’s power surge has him in the thick of the National League MVP conversation, pairing elite defense in center field with improved plate discipline and extra-base production.
The Cubs open a series at Miami on Friday, while the Brewers visit Cincinnati. Chicago’s remaining schedule includes another look at Milwaukee, giving the second-place club a chance to close the gap before the final weeks.
Crow-Armstrong’s comments after the game reflected the same even-keeled approach that has marked his breakout campaign, one in which the former first-round pick has exceeded even the high expectations that accompanied his six-year contract extension signed before the season.
