Counsell praises – Pete Crow-Armstrong hit for the cycle for the 13th time in Cubs history Monday, but it was Craig Counsell’s favorite moment that stuck: a sacrifice fly in a plate appearance that showed growth even after a pickoff got him rattled. The night kept moving, and th
It looked like one of those nights Cubs fans dream about—Pete Crow-Armstrong completing a cycle and landing his name in the club record books. Homer, triple, double, single. That was the order of his damage as he did it for the 13th time in team history Monday.
Craig Counsell, though, didn’t pick the cycle as the most telling moment from the night. His favorite play came from plate appearance No. 5, when Crow-Armstrong drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. A sac fly isn’t usually the highlight reel. In this case, Counsell said, it was still the point.
The RBI mattered in the way only late-game baseball can—bringing the Cubs within a run an inning before their walk-off win. But Counsell’s excitement was tied to something less flashy: what it suggested about how Crow-Armstrong is learning to steer his emotions inside the at-bat. even when the game swerves.
Crow-Armstrong got a burst of attention online after he completed the cycle with a seventh-inning single, only for his momentum to be interrupted immediately. He was picked off first base right after the milestone.
“My excitement [over the cycle] was a little short lived,” Counsell laughed after the game.
Cubs fans know the swing of Crow-Armstrong’s emotions. They watched him slam enough bats into the ground during a second-half slump last summer that it became part of his story. This time, though, Counsell said the difference wasn’t that the frustration arrived—it was what happened next.
Rather than let the pickoff sit in his head, Crow-Armstrong moved on. Counsell pointed to that as evidence of progress.
“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.”
To Counsell, the sac fly connected to a bigger pattern: staying composed even when the moment doesn’t go perfectly. Crow-Armstrong described a similar lesson from a couple weeks earlier. when he lost a fly ball that landed behind him for an inside-the-park homer. That miscue could have swallowed the rest of a game.
Instead, he homered and then delivered a walk-off hit in the following innings.
“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.”.
Then, as if the cycle wasn’t enough, Crow-Armstrong followed it quickly—again.
For his next trick, he hit another leadoff home run, his third in the last four games.
Tuesday carried forward the momentum from that stretch. Crow-Armstrong started the bottom of the first inning with a blast out to right field—his 14th long ball of the season. It came during a scalding hot stretch. and after that opening shot. he was batting .462 since May 30. with eight home runs and 15 extra-base hits.
While the lineup looked alive, the pitching staff had its own storyline ticking forward.
Lefty Matthew Boyd’s return from a stay on the injured list progressed further with a positively reviewed bullpen session Tuesday. Counsell said 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, but the team slowed the comeback after shoulder soreness showed up.
Now, with his bullpen session going well and rehab work on the horizon, the Cubs have one more piece edging toward the rotation—while Crow-Armstrong keeps proving that even after the biggest nights, composure still matters.
Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong Craig Counsell cycle sacrifice fly picked off first base Matthew Boyd injured list bullpen session minor league rehab assignment walk-off win