Slumping Pete Crow-Armstrong had three hits and reached base four times Friday.
That’s the good news for Chicago Cubs fans.
The bad news is the star center fielder was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth inning and overslid second base on a steal attempt and was tagged out in the bottom of the ninth in a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of 40,044 at Wrigley Field.
Worse news is that in the seventh inning, he suffered a knee injury trying to make a diving catch of a double hit by Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, though the severity of the injury is unknown.
Crow-Armstrong was not available to speak with the media after the game, and manager Craig Counsell downplayed the injury.
“He banged his knee similar to the injury on the slide against Boston (July 20) that he missed a game with,” Counsell said. “He was a little shaken up right after. But he was good enough to stay in the game and good enough to run.”
Chicago native and Taft graduate Jack Suwinski, who entered the game hitting .118, tagged Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia (1-3) with a ninth-inning solo home run to provide the winning margin for the Pirates (52-71).
Crow-Armstrong had three of the Cubs’ six hits. He was 3-for-41 in August heading into the game.
He ripped a double to right in the second inning and belted a run-scoring single to right in the fourth, but he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.
He was hit on the hip by a Evan Sisk pitch in the seventh to start a rally as he came home on a Matt Shaw sacrifice fly and then singled and had the base-stealing miscue in the ninth.
“I love that he was ready to go from the first pitch,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said of Crow-Armstrong. “He played a really good baseball game today. He makes that slide (in the ninth) and 99 times out of 100, that doesn’t happen. But it did this time and obviously it really (stinks).”
Added left fielder Ian Happ: “He’s a competitor and we’re all frustrated when we make mistakes. That’s part of the game. We wouldn’t have been in that game without him.”
Counsell said Crow-Armstrong had a “really good day.”
“It’s the kind of day that we’re hoping that he has because offensively, he’s such a big part of how we’re going to be successful,” Counsell said. “The (overslide) was … you know … I don’t know what to say about it. It’s unfortunate. It happened.”
Before the game, Crow-Armstrong talked about how he was utilizing teammates and having talks with Counsell during his slump.
“I end up in his office a lot,” Crow-Armstrong said of Counsell. “Sometimes it just to (talk) and sometimes it’s to have some real conversations.
“He’s got a lot to provide for a guy like me, and he’s shown more support to me than just about anybody in the baseball world. I go see him all the time because he has my back and my best interest in mind.”
The Cubs (68-53) came into Friday’s game having lost three straight series for the first time this season. They were hoping a three-game set against the last-place Pirates would put them on the right track, especially with a five-game showdown with the first-place Milwaukee Brewers beginning Monday.
The loss Friday, coupled with the Brewers’ 10-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds — their 13th straight victory — dropped the Cubs nine games back in the National League Central.
Cub starter Colin Rea gave up just one run in five innings in his no-decision. In the last three games, Cubs starters have allowed four earned runs on six hits in 17 2/3 innings.
“Our starting pitching has been impressive for a while,” Hoerner said. “We’ve been able to support them with a lot of runs for a lot of the year, but we haven’t done lately.”
Heralded prospect Owen Caissie, who was called up Thursday and went 0-for-4 in his MLB debut, did not play Friday. He traveled from Des Moines, Iowa, to Toronto to Chicago on Thursday. He was at Wrigley Field on Friday grateful to be with the Cubs.
Before the July 31 trade deadline, Caissie’s name was mentioned quite a few times, and he was on pins and needles wondering if he would stay or go.
“It was stressful,” he said. “I tried to do my best and not pay attention to anything and it was kind of impossible. But as soon as it was 6 o’clock, I was like, ‘Phew.’ I’m glad I stayed here.”
