Pete Crow-Armstrong turned a hostile Busch Stadium crowd into background noise on Saturday, launching a 444-foot home run in the eighth inning of the Cubs’ 6-1 win and finishing with a standout night that included a sliding catch in left-center.
ST. LOUIS — Pete Crow-Armstrong didn’t argue with the boos. He didn’t glance toward the upper decks or fire back from the plate.
He trotted around the bases after a 444-foot home run in the eighth inning. sending the ball into the laps of the “Tarps Off” section in Busch Stadium’s right-field bleachers during Saturday’s 6-1 Cubs win. The confrontation had been brewing for two days: Crow-Armstrong said he’d heard the same heckling “yesterday and all today. ” along with “overrated” chants.
“I was hearing them all yesterday and all today,” he said. “They’ve got like hundreds of shirtless guys out in right field. Interesting theme for the year, but they’re rowdy and they’re showing up. They’re buying into something, so I can appreciate it. They don’t really rest for nine innings. I guess that’s what they’re there to do.”.
When he rounded first base, Crow-Armstrong pointed out toward right field, appearing to direct attention to the shirtless crowd that had been giving him trouble.
“Just to the Cubs fans out there,” he said when asked who he was pointing to.
Cubs fans, for their part, made their presence felt down I-55. Crow-Armstrong drove in runs, scored twice, and reached base five times. He was also a triple shy of the cycle.
After the homer, the mood shifted. “Overrated” chants from Cardinals fans gave way to “P-C-A” chants from Cubs fans. In the at-bat that came after his blast, he knocked in a run with a base hit, and the noise from the Cubs side grew even louder.
The night’s biggest moment for some fans came at the end of the game: Crow-Armstrong made a sliding catch in left-center field on the final play. Righty starter Ben Brown called it “crazy,” and said it’s always clear that Crow-Armstrong wants to win and play hard.
“He wants to win. He wants to play hard. It’s awesome when he’s doing that and putting on a show. It’s really cool to watch. We’re all thankful to have Pete over there in center field,” Brown said.
Manager Craig Counsell added that Crow-Armstrong is playing in a position where it’s difficult for everyone else to get to the kinds of balls he’s reaching.
“He’s in a place where nobody [else is] getting to that stuff,” Counsell said.
It was difficult to picture Crow-Armstrong as the “overrated” player Cardinals fans accused him of being, especially on a night like this. The conversation around him isn’t new, though. The numbers show why the doubt has lingered.
Crow-Armstrong hasn’t produced at the level that made him an All-Star during the first half of last season. After hitting 25 homers and posting an .847 OPS before the break. he finished the second half with six home runs and a .634 OPS. Heading into Saturday, he had six homers and a .676 OPS in 58 games this season.
For him, the point on Saturday wasn’t about defending a reputation. He described it as wanting to take the pressure off and just play.
“It’s been a grind day in and day out,” he said. “Today I just wanted to go out and be a kid and play baseball with my friends.”
“That was a blast. … I need more of that in my day-to-day, just remembering that this is fun, even when we go through tough stretches and whatnot, not taking myself too seriously.”
Counsell treated the performance as something to carry forward. When asked what it means, he pointed to the obvious: it looked like Crow-Armstrong’s strong swing.
“He had a wonderful game. He swung the bat really, really well,” Counsell said. “Do it tomorrow.”
Pete Crow-Armstrong Chicago Cubs St. Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium Tarps Off MLB 444-foot home run Ben Brown Craig Counsell