Pete Crow-Armstrong has been the best story in Chicago all year, and Wednesday night in Baltimore he made sure nobody could look away. The Cubs and Orioles turned Camden Yards into a home run derby, and PCA was right in the middle of it, going deep twice in a game that kept flipping leads like a pinball machine.
PCA!!! 20th bomb!!! https://t.co/OiLc7wrUxx
That 20th homer wasn't just a nice round number. It locked in a 20-20 season for Crow-Armstrong, and he's doing it before the All-Star Game even happens. That's the kind of pace that gets you mentioned in the same breath as Cubs legends.
PCA with a 20/20 season and we ain’t even at the all star break https://t.co/PCnQfYhlED
This isn't a one-year fluke either. Crow-Armstrong is now the third player in Cubs history to put up multiple 20-20 seasons, joining Sammy Sosa and Ryne Sandberg, and he's reportedly the first big leaguer since Alfonso Soriano to reach 20-20 in back-to-back seasons before the All-Star break. That's serious company for a guy who's still just scratching the surface of his prime.
The Cubs needed every bit of that power Wednesday because Baltimore wasn't going quietly. Chicago answered back with a pair of home runs to even the score, part of a game that saw both dugouts trading haymakers all night.
The Cubs tie it right back up on back to back dingers! https://t.co/UlxP2u3V55
Then PCA did it again. His second homer of the night, a 106.7 mph missile at a 35.2-degree launch angle, put Chicago back in front and turned Camden Yards into pure chaos. The Cubs eventually pulled away in a game that reportedly finished 9-7, with 5 total Chicago home runs in the win.
PCA goes yard for the SECOND time today https://t.co/Elsqs2crba
Add in an 8-game hitting streak and a batting average pushing toward .300, and Crow-Armstrong is putting himself in the middle of the National League MVP conversation heading into the break. For a Cubs team trying to prove it belongs in the playoff picture, having a 20-20 dynamo who plays elite defense in center field is exactly the kind of building block you build a contender around. The only question now is how high the ceiling actually goes — 30-30 isn't out of the question if he keeps this up.