Pete Crow-Armstrong dazzles once again as Cubs add to NL Central lead

CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong heard more thunderous chants of ''P-C-A!'' and ''M-V-P!''

He is still getting used to the adulation.

''I'm still kind of new to the ovations and whatnot. I don't quite know how to respond all the time,'' a sheepish Crow-Armstrong said.

Looks like he might get some practice this year.

In one memorable inning on a warm Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, Crow-Armstrong added another pair of dazzling plays to his breakout season with the Chicago Cubs — one that almost certainly will include the All-Star Game next month in Atlanta.

First, he robbed Milwaukee's Brice Turang with a diving catch in center for the second out of the eighth. Then he led off the bottom half of the inning with a 452-foot drive off the scoreboard in right for his team-high 19th homer, sparking another round of ''P-C-A!'' chants from the crowd.

''That's why we come to the ballpark, to see things like that,'' Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, ''to see great players do amazing things. Pretty cool.''

Crow-Armstrong punctuated a 5-3 victory over Milwaukee in the opener of a three-game series between the NL Central rivals. The Cubs upped their division lead to 6 1/2 games over the second-place Brewers.

He also had his teammates shaking their heads in almost disbelief once again.

''Every game he plays is like two games for a normal person, just with how hard he plays,'' pitcher Ben Brown said.

Turang's liner off Caleb Thielbar had an exit velocity of 90.1 mph and looked as if it was ticketed for the grass in left-center. But Crow-Armstrong sprinted over and gloved the ball as he dove and tumbled over before scrambling to his feet.

Thielbar just grinned as he took the play in from near the mound.

''He's playing at as high of a level as I've seen a center fielder play,'' Counsell said.

After Caleb Durbin struck out swinging for the final out of the Milwaukee eighth, Crow-Armstrong walked to the plate to face Rob Zastryzny. He drove the first pitch from the veteran left-hander — an 85.5 mph cutter at the top of the strike zone — deep into the night.

It had a 111.5 mph exit velocity, and it was the longest of Crow-Armstrong's 29 career home runs.

''Didn't feel anything,'' he said of the swing on the massive drive.

Crow-Armstrong, 23, was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2020 amateur draft. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in the Javier Báez deal in July 2021.

He made his major league debut in 2023, going 0 for 14 in 13 games. He had a rough June last year before finding his form. He batted .289 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in his last 57 games in 2024.

Crow-Armstrong has carried over that success into this year. He also leads the Cubs with 52 runs scored and 23 steals, and he ranks second to Seiya Suzuki with 58 RBIs.

When the first batch of All-Star fan voting was announced on Monday, Crow-Armstrong had the highest total for NL outfielders at more than 1.1 million. The All-Star voting, along with the ''P-C-A!'' and ''M-V-P!'' chants he heard once again, well, Crow-Armstrong was taking it all in as best he could.

''It's so personable and it just feels super real and cool,'' he said.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb