Baseball
Baseball
Crow-Armstrong’s Four-Hit Outing Powers Cubs to Dominant Shutout Victory
Crow-Armstrong’s Four-Hit Outing Powers Cubs to Dominant Shutout Victory
The Chicago Cubs offense exploded for 15 hits and 11 runs on Saturday, silencing the Pittsburgh Pirates in an 11-0 rout at PNC Park. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong led the charge with a four-hit performance, including a double and a stolen base, as the Cubs secured a commanding victory and positioned themselves for a potential series sweep.
After a tight win the previous night, Chicago’s bats came alive against Pirates starter Paul Skenes, who was eventually pulled in the sixth inning after throwing 105 pitches. Skenes had managed to hold the Cubs to one hit through the first four frames, a leadoff single by Crow-Armstrong. However, the Cubs broke through in the fifth with singles from Dansby Swanson and Miguel Amaya, followed by Seiya Suzuki’s hit that brought home two runs.
The Cubs truly opened the floodgates in the sixth inning. Nico Hoerner singled, and Pedro Ramirez walked, setting the stage for Swanson’s RBI double. Amaya then singled, scoring both Swanson and Ramirez, pushing the lead to 6-0. Crow-Armstrong’s third hit, a double, preceded Michael Busch’s single that plated two more runs, extending the lead to 8-0.
On the mound, Shota Imanaga delivered a masterful performance for Chicago, pitching six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits and striking out four. This continued Imanaga’s career dominance over the Pirates, against whom he has yielded just one run in 38 innings across six starts. Javier Assad closed out the game with three scoreless innings to earn his first save of the season. The strong showing by the Cubs, backed by a significant contingent of their traveling fans, sets them up to complete a three-game sweep on Sunday.
Sources
