Speaking in Indianapolis in August before a game in which he batted leadoff and roamed the outfield, Pete Crow-Armstrong was quite aware a call-up to the playoff-hopeful Cubs would end his regular playing time.
Most top prospects see more action than two starts in 12 games upon arrival in the majors, but Crow-Armstrong doesn’t want to let that damper the frenzied energy he brings to what largely has been a pinch-running and defensive-replacement role in vitally important late-inning moments.
“Sitting on the bench watching the game for six to nine innings, it’s easy to stay engaged when we’re playing the type of baseball we’re playing,” Crow-Armstrong said. “When I get in, I’m just excited to get in at that point and trying to make something happen.”
Arriving to the majors with known issues handling pitches above the belt and tasked with cultivating a disciplined approach to crush mistakes lower in the zone, Crow-Armstrong cited adjusting to the higher level of pitch execution in the majors for his early struggles. After entering the game as a pinch runner and popping out to left in the eighth inning Sunday, Crow-Armstrong has struck out six times and is still chasing his first big-league hit through 11 at-bats.
But Crow-Armstrong wants to let the needs of a contending team push aside his individual concerns.
“Chasing the first hit is probably going to cause me to take a little bit longer to get the first hit than I want,” he said. “It’s obviously not happening for me at the plate right now. But that [walk he drew on Monday], my goal is to get [Alexander Canario] up to the plate, get the next guy up to the plate. My goal is to advance people if I can. It’s just playing the game, simple as that.”
Candelario progresses
Sunday represented the most pregame defensive work Jeimer Candelario has done as he recovers from a lower back strain. The Cubs say the veteran infielder is progressing well, and “the hope” is that he will be activated off the injured list Tuesday in Atlanta.
Canario in center
Canario made his first start in center field in his major-league career.
That it came at a position Canario had played just 12 times this year at Triple-A reflects how rare the opportunity might be down the stretch for the rookie. Canario looked a little unsteady on a couple of reads but had no misplays before being subbed out for Crow-Armstrong.
“He’s comfortable out there,” manager David Ross said.
Suzuki’s strong stretch
Seiya Suzuki, who had two hits, a walk and two runs scored Sunday, has now reached base multiple times in 12 of 23 games played in September, and is hitting .375/.439/.727 this month.
“I don’t think I’m at my peak performance,” he said Friday through an interpreter. But he did note that the way he has been able to immediately bounce back from poor games is “something that I couldn’t do in the first half of the season.”
