Speaking in Indianapolis in August before a game where he batted leadoff and roamed the outfield, Pete Crow-Armstrong was quite aware a call-up to a playoff hopeful Cubs would end his regular playing time.
Most top prospects see no more than two starts in 12 games upon arrival in the majors, but Crow-Armstrong doesn’t want to let that damper the frenzied energy he brings to what largely has been a pinch-running and defensive replacement role in vitally important late-inning moments.
“Sitting on the bench watching the game for six to nine innings, it’s easy to stay engaged when we’re playing the type of baseball we’re playing,” Crow-Armstrong said. “When I get in, I’m just excited to get in at that point and trying to make something happen.”
Arriving to the majors with known issues handling pitches above the belt and tasked with cultivating a disciplined approach to crush mistakes lower in the zone, Crow-Armstrong cited adjusting to the higher level of pitch execution in the majors for his early struggles. After entering the game as a pinch-runner and popping out to left in the eighth inning Sunday, he’s struck out six times and is still chasing his first big league hit through 11 at-bats.
But Crow-Armstrong wants to let the needs of a contending team push aside his individual concerns.
“Chasing the first hit is probably going to cause me to take a little bit longer to get the first hit than I want,” Crow-Armstrong said. “It’s obviously not happening for me at the plate right now. But that [walk he drew on Monday], my goal is to get [Alexander Canario] up to the plate, get the next guy up to the plate. My goal is to advance people if I can. It’s just playing the game, simple as that.”
Candelario progresses
Sunday represented the most pregame defensive work Jeimer Candelario has done as he recovers from a low back strain. The Cubs say the veteran infielder is progressing well, so with the best-case scenario of a Sunday return by the boards, that Candelario will be activated off the injured list Tuesday in Atlanta is now “the hope.”
Canario in center
A left-handed opposing starter placing Mike Tauchman on the bench, Candelario on the IL rather than playing first base and pushing Cody Bellinger to center, and the relatively small outfield at Wrigley all aligned to give Canario the first start in center field of his major league career.
That it came at a position Canario had played just 12 times this year at Triple-A, reflects how rare the opportunity might be down the stretch for the rookie. Canario looked a little unsteady on a couple reads, but had no misplays before being subbed out for Crow-Armstrong.
“He’s comfortable out there,” Cubs manager David Ross said.
Suzuki’s strong stretch
With two hits, a walk and two runs scored on Sunday, Seiya Suzuki has now reached base multiple times in 12 of 23 games played in September, and is hitting .375/.439/.727 this month.
“I don’t think I’m at my peak performance,” Suzuki said Friday through an interpreter. But he did note that the way he’s been able to immediately bounce back from poor games is “something that I couldn’t do in the first half of the season.”
