The Chicago Cubs wasted no time making their presence felt Saturday night, as Pete Crow-Armstrong sent the game’s opening pitch over the fence in left-center field for his 12th home run of the season. From there, Chicago never slowed down, cruising to a 6-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants to claim back-to-back wins in their three-game series.
Crow-Armstrong’s leadoff blast came off a slider from Trevor McDonald and set the tone for an evening that saw the Cubs collect 11 total hits, including four doubles and three home runs. Crow-Armstrong finished the night with a double and a single as well, giving him a three-hit performance overall.
Chicago extended its lead in the third inning when Crow-Armstrong’s double helped ignite a two-run rally. He came home on a single by Seiya Suzuki, and Michael Busch pushed the score to 3-0 by stealing home as part of a double steal with Ian Happ.
McDonald ran into further trouble in the fourth, exiting with the bases loaded and two outs. Reliever Reiver Sanmartin then walked Busch to push the Cubs’ advantage to 4-0. McDonald finished the night charged with four runs on six hits across 3 2/3 innings, walking three batters and striking out four to fall to 2-4 on the season.
The Cubs wrapped up their scoring in the fifth inning on home runs by Happ, his 16th of the year, and rookie Pedro Ramirez, who connected for the first home run of his major league career in just his 29th plate appearance. Ramirez also added a double on the night.
On the mound, Ben Brown was the story for Chicago. The right-hander worked through several jams over five innings, surrendering just one run despite giving up seven hits and three walks. He struck out three and improved his record to 3-2. Brown has now allowed one run or fewer in six of his seven starts this season and finished the night with the same ERA he carried into the game — a sharp 1.74.
San Francisco’s lone run came in the third inning when Drew Gilbert drew a walk and eventually scored on a triple by Luis Arraez. The Giants struggled with runners on base all night, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position during Brown’s time on the mound.
Gilbert walked three times for San Francisco, and Rafael Devers contributed a double and a single. The loss dropped the Giants to 1-4 on their current six-game homestand.
