PCA finishes 40-40 season, NL MVP Award to follow

Crow-Armstrong did draw a walk in Game 1, but he went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts as the Cubs’ leadoff hitter in the series. Alex Bregman went 0-for-8 in the two hole behind him. Crow-Armstrong also didn’t help matters tonight by wasting a challenge during the very first at-bat of the game. It’s definitely not how he was looking forward to completing his MVP campaign. However, through 10 career postseason games, he’s 5-for-34 with no extra-base hits and a 16/2 K/BB ratio.

Chicago manager Craig Counsell will stick with a near-identical lineup, with the exception of Matt Shaw at the hot corner instead of Pedro Ramírez, after Tuesday’s unexpected Game 1 shutout loss at the hands of Michael King and the Padres. Crow-Armstrong struck out three times in four plate appearances in that defeat. Here’s the full lineup: Crow-Armstrong (CF), Alex Bregman (DH), Michael Busch (1B), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Nico Hoerner (2B), Matt Shaw (3B), Carson Kelly (C) and Dansby Swanson (SS).

A tough first playoff game for Crow-Armstrong, with the only positive being a walk. The MVP favorite was fortunate not to get kicked out after arguing a check-swing third strikeout in a game where the Cubs only managed three hits through the game. PCA and Chicago will get a chance to bounce back in a must-win game for the Cubs on Wednesday in San Diego.

Bregman is ready for the start of the postseason after returning to Chicago’s lineup less than one week after suffering multiple facial fractures when he was hit by a foul ball in the on-deck circle. It’ll be rookie Pedro Ramírez filling in at the hot corner with Bregman limited to DH as he continues to recover. Here’s the full lineup for Tuesday’s series opener in San Diego: Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF), Bregman (DH), Michael Busch (1B), Seiya Suzuki (RF), Ian Happ (LF), Nico Hoerner (2B), Ramírez (3B), Carson Kelly (C) and Dansby Swanson (SS).

Crow-Armstrong has his 40/40 season and NL MVP honors all locked up, but still to be seen if whether he’ll finish a rare 10 bWAR season. He entered today with 9.9, and that probably didn’t go up with a .125/.222/.125 doubleheader. Aaron Judge has the only 10 bWAR seasons of the decade, coming in at 10.8 in 2022 and 10.9 in 2024. Mike Trout also has two such seasons and Mookie Betts has one, but no National Leaguer has finished at 10 since Barry Bonds in 2004.

He joins Shohei Ohtani (2024), Ronald Acuna Jr. (2023), Alfonso Soriano (2006), Alex Rodriguez (1998), Barry Bonds (1996) and Jose Canseco (1988) to accomplish the remarkable feat. Soon he’s likely to add a National League MVP award to his list of honors. Crow-Armstrong finished the afternoon 1-for-3 with a walk and a single and is now slashing a robust .280/.373/.575 to go with 45 homers, 107 RBI, 119 runs scored and 40 stolen bases in what has been an exceptional season.

Crow-Armstrong, bouncing back after going 0-for-10 in the first two games of the series, is now tied with Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead with 45 homers. He’s first with 118 runs scored and third with 107 RBI. The steal today was his 38th, and there’s little doubt he’ll get the two he needs for 40 during the Cubs’ final six games.

Javier never really had it in this one. He put himself in trouble instantly by walking the first two batters of the game, but narrowly escaped that jam with two pop-ups. Then the Royals put runners on the corners with one out in the second and again he managed to find a way out of that without a run on the board. Finally the Royals got some runs across in the fourth when John Rave socked a two-run home run. Despite another threat in the sixth, those would be the only two runs on Javier’s final ledger. Just a bit less crisp than he had been lately, Javier struggled to put hitters away and that led to both too many base runners and too much traffic for him to navigate through six innings. He’s tentatively lined up for a two-start week to close the season against both the Mariners and Athletics on the road. Just be advised upcoming schedules are merely a guess this time of year.

There’s really no stopping this guy. In addition to the two homers, Crow-Armstrong hit his eighth triple too. There isn’t a shadow of a doubt that he’s going to win his first MVP award and now with 44 home runs, he has a shot to chase down Kyle Schwarber for the league-high in that department. Apart from the many, many steps forward he’s taken as a power hitter. It’s been amazing to watch Crow-Armstrong’s eye develop this season. The walk he drew in this game was his 78th. He drew 50 combined over the last two full seasons. There’s no better spectacle in the game right now and it’s going to be a treat to watch this version of Crow-Armstrong in the playoffs.

Crow-Armstrong was a one-man wrecking crew in the win over the Braves Monday. He had four of the Cubs’ 10 hits, including two of the teams’ four extra-base hits, and knocked in four of the Cubs’ seven runs. Crow-Armstrong’s home run was his 42nd and his steal was his 37th. With a 40/40 season in his sights, expect him to continue to be aggressive on the bases.