Pete Crow-Armstrong climbs out of rut to power Cubs' offense against Pirates: 'Everyone's rooting for him'

PITTSBURGH — Pete Crow-Armstrong was greeted by “P-C-A” chants from the mostly Cubbie blue-clad fans behind the visitors’ dugout at PNC Park as he trotted toward the steps after a trip around the bases in the sixth inning.

The Cubs’ 4-0 win against the Pirates on Monday was powered in part by Crow-Armstrong’s offensive breakout. He homered and doubled in four at-bats, scoring twice. Crow-Armstrong entered the day on a four-game hitless streak that extended his August slump into mid-September.

“When you’re killing rallies, and when you feel like you’re not driving in runs that should be driven in, then the impatience becomes a little more heightened,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I just need to do a better job of really buying into, ‘One swing can change it, one feel, jam shot, bunt — playing the game, not just trying to hit a freaking homer to get out of something.”

Crow-Armstrong, who was putting together a compelling MVP campaign before his second-half slide, has threatened to return to form with other standout performances — a three-hit game against the Pirates last month, a game-winning home run in Anaheim to kick off a three-city road trip, good at-bats and two RBI in Atlanta last week.

None of those games, however, has led to any sort of hot streak. And Crow-Armstrong entered Monday with a .162 batting average in August and September, and he hadn't homered since Aug. 22.

Some regression was only natural after the start Crow-Armstrong had to the season. And that success really dated back to the second half of last year. From last year’s All-Star break to this year’s, Crow-Armstrong owned an .806 OPS.

“As I played better this year, my own expectations grew for myself,” Crow-Armstrong said.

This is also Crow-Armstrong’s first full season as an everyday player, an adjustment in and of itself. And more experienced hitters go through similar highs and lows.

Four-time All-Star Kyle Tucker slumped for almost two months before the 11-game hot streak that preceded his current stint on the injured list for a strained left calf.

Ian Happ, one of the Cubs’ hottest hitters recently, had a slow start to the season.

“When you looked at it, you were like, ‘Well, Ian’s going to have a good second half,’” manager Craig Counsell said. “And Ian’s had a good second half, and some of our other guys have struggled a little bit in the second half. So that’s how a good team can function together, is that you’ve got to take turns driving the bus, so to speak.”

The best version of the Cubs’ offense this year had Crow-Armstrong, Tucker and Seiya Suzuki in the driver’s seat.

While the latter two were sidelined Monday, Crow-Armstrong put his foot on the gas. And the win trimmed the Cubs’ magic number to three, before the Giants and Diamondbacks’ game concluded later Monday night.

To kick off the Cubs’ scoring, Michael Busch homered in the third inning, and Nico Hoerner swiped a run on a wild pitch. But Crow-Armstrong’s day was unmatched.

“When he has a dirty uniform at the end of a game, that’s a good sign,” said right-hander Jameson Taillon, who contributed six innings to the combined shutout. “It would be awesome to get him really locked back in. I know he’s been putting in a ton of work, he’s here early hitting every single day. So you see the work, and you know everyone’s rooting for him.”