Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs stepping up as injuries mount

Before Wednesday’s game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell was honest about why Pete Crow-Armstrong is with the team at the moment. He’s the Cubs’ top prospect, but he didn’t get the call back up because they’d seen the development they needed to see from him early in the year.

Instead, the injuries that have plagued the Cubs throughout April ultimately led to them needing Crow-Armstrong to join the big league club. Winning is the goal at this level, and when necessary, that takes priority over keeping a guy in the minors to get everyday playing time for the sake of his development.

“Pete’s here because of injuries, right?” the Cubs’ skipper said. “When these guys get healthy, there’s probably not going to be a spot for him. And so, from that perspective, we’re maybe taking a timeout [from development], but I still think big league at-bats, big league competition — that’s development, too. And so, it may not be on an everyday basis here, but there’s still things to learn. The priority is going to be winning games, and we’ll put him in spots that, hopefully, he can help us do that.”

The latest injury came as Cody Bellinger hit the 10-day injured list due to two fractured ribs on his right side. Seiya Suzuki (right oblique strain) has been on the IL since April 15, so Crow-Armstrong was called upon to help the outfield group.

And boy, did he come up big when he got the opportunity.

With a runner on first and one out in a tie ballgame in the bottom of the sixth Thursday, Crow-Armstrong stepped to the plate. Hitless in his first 21 MLB plate appearances, he turned on a middle-middle fastball, driving it into the right-field bleachers. That proved to be the final blow, as the Cubs won 3-1 to sweep the Astros.

Crow-Armstrong described his first hit and home run in the big leagues as “freeing,” but the most important part for him was that it contributed to another Cubs’ victory.

“Being in my position coming up to this team is more so exciting than anything, I think,” Crow-Armstrong. “You’re in the wrong place if you’re not trying to win, and getting to come into a situation like this is pretty cool. Not many people get to do that coming up. If anything, the way I see it now, it just takes pressure off of me, knowing that I’m here because I will be impacting [the team] and trusting in what Counse wants to use me for and how I’m going to be used here.”

The injuries have mounted. But somehow, the Cubs just keep winning.

They’ve won nine of their last 12 games, moving to a season-high seven games over .500 (16-9). Of course, they’ve built that record even with injuries hitting every aspect of the roster. Along with Bellinger and Suzuki:

• Justin Steele (left hamstring strain) hasn’t pitched since going down on Opening Day.
• Kyle Hendricks (low back strain) and Drew Smyly (right hip impingement) both hit the IL on Tuesday.
• Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture in back) won’t return until at least June 5.
• Jameson Taillon (back strain) and Patrick Wisdom (back strain) only just returned last week after starting the year on the IL.

That’s a list of some key names who have missed/will miss various amount of time, yet the Cubs have managed to stay afloat.

“We knew coming in that, obviously, it was going to take more than just the 26 that broke camp,” Dansby Swanson said, “and it’s already being put on full display. So, that’s been awesome. I feel like we’ve been playing some really good ball recently.”

To do that, they’ve need everyone to step up and contribute. Crow-Armstrong’s homer was just the latest example, but it’s also been guys like Nico Hoerner (1.013 OPS since April 15) and Mike Tauchman (1.164 OPS since April 15) who’ve stepped up offensively.

And that’s obviously not limited to the position players.

Still in the early stages of this stretch of 16 games in 16 days, the Cubs will need all hands on deck, particularly from the pitching staff.

Getting through that many consecutive days without a day off is tough enough as it is. But with the arms they’ve lost to the IL, it means others needed to produce in their place, and it especially means their starters — who’d pitched the second-least innings among MLB rotations (102) through Monday, forcing the relievers to throw the second-most innings among MLB bullpens (94 2/3) — need to find ways to pitch deeper into ballgames.

“I think what’s clear for me in this stretch is that we’re going to have to push our starting pitching a little farther in games,” Counsell said before the series opener Tuesday. “… That means starters have to cover more innings, and I think we’re equipped to do that and in a good spot to do that, but it’s definitely going to be part of the next two weeks.”

That’s why it was a great sign to see the starters give a bit more length during this series.

First, Jordan Wicks held the Astros to just two runs over six innings Tuesday night, his first quality start of the year. Then, Taillon and Assad both limited Houston to one earned run over 5 2/3 innings in their starts Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

In a way, Counsell laid out a challenge for the rotation, and three games into this stretch, they’ve delivered.

“I’m aware we have like 16 games in 16 days,” Taillon said. “We have a great starting rotation but not a ton of experience, so it’s like, I do take a little bit of responsibility to try to be the guy to go out there and go deep and provide some length. Ideally, I go deeper than I did [Wednesday] and my last [start of five innings last Friday] going forward. But yeah, that’s just a point of pride in general for me.”

“Obviously, [not being] able to accomplish that in the first four [starts] was frustrating for me,” Wicks said. “I feel like I’ve put a lot of stress on the bullpen, and that’s something I never want to do as a starter. And so, to be able to get out there and go through six [Tuesday] was awesome.”

Nobody was going to feel sorry for the Cubs if this rash of injuries sunk them. Teams across the league are dealing with similar issues, so the injury bug isn’t limited to the North Side.

But they’ve responded with a stretch that now has them owning the sixth-best record in baseball, with the lineup, rotation and bullpen clicking at the same time. That’s as good a sign as any that they were right to put their faith in the depth they touted all offseason.

“I think that is truly tested when a lot of things go wrong as far as injuries or challenging parts of the year, and I think it speaks to our depth, it speaks to the quality of what we’re doing at the higher levels of the minor leagues to have contributions right away,” Hoerner said. “Obviously, in spring training, we project out these optimal lineups and perfect ways of doing everything, and it’s just unfortunately not how our sport works out, and so it’s been really cool to see everyone respond.”

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