Game Recap: Pete Crow-Armstrong makes MLB history in Cubs win over Twins |
Dustin Riese
· · 9 hours ago
MINNEAPOLIS - Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Minnesota Twins (45-48) at Target wasn't just an ordinary game for the Chicago Cubs (55-38). With a loss, the Cubs would get swept and would be heading to New York, clinging to a one-run lead in the division.
A win, at the very least, would keep the Cubs two games ahead, thus forcing the Brewers to sweep the Nationals if they wanted to overtake the Cubs in first place at the break. Needless to say, the pressure was on for the Cubs to come through, as they looked lifeless during the first two games of this series. Although it took longer than expected, the Cubs finally showed up in the Twin Cities and put on a performance that many expected them to have as they took down the Twins 8-1 to salvage the finale. Credit Colin Rea for playing a massive role in that, as the right-hander stepped up when needed. There is no question that Rea has been a godsend for this rotation, as he took over Justin Steele's spot following his injury. Although it hasn't been perfect, Rea has still put forth a good season and is now 7-3 with a 3.91 ERA for the year. Thursday marked his best start of the year by far as Rea gave the Cubs seven innings of one-run, three-hit baseball, walking two and striking out five to pick up the win. Compare that to Chris Paddock, who had been pitching well before allowing six runs in five innings, and this was a game where the Cubs led from start to finish after failing to lead in any of the first 19 innings of this series. Even with the Cubs failing to score in the first, their offense got going in the second. Once they started, Paddock and company had a hard time slowing them down as the one-out double from Dansby Swanson proved pivotal as he came in to score on a Nico Hoerner single to put the Cubs in front 1-0. That was only the start of things for the Cubs and their offense, as they went on to score six runs over a four-inning stretch, essentially putting the game away. Minnesota didn't have many chances against Rea, but their best chance came in the second, with Ryan Jeffers starting things off with a double before a walk put two men on and no outs. Leave it to Rea to find a way to get out of that, as he induced a massive double play to kill the rally before finishing things off without any damage. Then came the third inning, where the top of the Cubs' order did the damage as a one-out Kyle Tucker double set the offense up yet again. Two batters later, and it was Pete Crow-Armstrong breaking out of his recent funk as he connected for the first of two homers in the game to push the Cubs' lead to 3-0. Pete Crow-Armstrong - Chicago Cubs (24) Another double from Carson Kelly continued to keep the pressure on for the Cubs in the fourth, only to have Hoerner tack on a single to put runners on the corners with one down. That brought up Matt Shaw, who was in desperate need of a big hit, and despite not getting that hit, he still drove in a run as his sacrifice fly had the Cubs on top 4-0. The longer the Twins' offense struggled against Rea, the easier things became, as it was at the top of the order, once again creating trouble for Paddock in the fifth. This time, it was Seiya Suzuki starting things off. His one-out single was followed by a Crow-Armstrong walk, and the Cubs had a pair of runners on. Two singles later, from Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson, the lead ballooned to 6-0, which proved to be the end of the line for Paddock. It took five innings for the Twins to pick up a run as Kody Clemens connected for just the second hit off Rea in the game with his solo shot making things 6-1. Royce Lewis would add a single immediately after, but that was it, as Rea went on to retire the final eight hitters he faced to close out his start. Already with one homer under his belt, Crow-Armstrong was just getting warmed up as he went left on left with Anthony Misiewicz and launched a breaking ball way up into the right center field bleachers for his second homer of the day to stretch the lead to 7-1. Pete Crow-Armstrong - Chicago Cubs (25) The two homers made MLB history as he is the only player ever to hit 25 homers, 25 stolen bases, and 70 RBIs before the All-Star break. Chicago would tack on their final run in the ninth on the Busch grounder before Daniel Palencia closed things out in dominating fashion for the 8-1 win. With the win, the Cubs remain in first place and picked up a .5 game to push that lead to two. Both Suzuki and Crow-Armstrong were able to break out of the series-long slump they were in as they led the Cubs with three hits. Swanson, Kelly, and Hoerner added multi-hit games for the Cubs, who pounded out 14 hits in the win. Chicago will now head to the Bronx for the final weekend of the first half as they open a huge series with the Yankees. Pete Crow-Armstrong hits 2 homers and the #Cubs win game 3. pic.twitter.com/etlZ8Gcrlb
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