By Hal McCoy
Pete Crow-Armstrong provided the Wrigley Field fans with what they wanted — a home run his first time up and a home run his last time up.
That, though, was it for the Chicago Cubs Sunday night.
The Cincinnati Reds doubled up on PCA with four home runs in a 7-5 victory.
All seven runs came on the four homers hit by Hector Rodriguez, Dane Myers, Tyler Stephenson and, yes, Sal Stewart.
Scoring runs via the home run has been the Reds’ modus operandi all season. They’ve scored 576 runs, 293 via home runs.
PCA, odds-on to win the National League MVP, led off against Chase Burns with a 417-foot drive into the right field bleachers, his ninth first-inning leadoff home run this season.
And he drove an Emilio Pagan fastball 431 feet into those same bleachers in the ninth.
That gave him five home runs in the final two games against the Reds and 38 for the season.
But it didn’t stop the Reds from taking two of three from the Cubs, bouncing back Sunday after a 17-5 loss Saturday when PCA hit three homers.
After PCA’s first-inning homer, the Cubs scored a run off Burns in the second for a 2-0 lead.
Then the Reds teed off on Cubs starter Shota Imanaga. He entered the game with 30 home runs given up and the Reds made it 33.
It began in the third when Eugenio Suarez walked and Matt McLain singled. With two outs, rookie Rodriguez yanked a three-run homer into the seats for a 3-2 Reds lead.
The Cubs tied it, 3-3, in the fourth on a throwing error by Rodriguez, but it only lasted until Myers led the fifth with a 384-footer into the left field seats.
And the Reds weren’t finished in the fifth. Elly De La Cruz singled and Stephenson launched one halfway up the bleachers in left field for a 6-3 advantage.
Burns was not his sharpest, but Burns is sharp even in dull moments and kept the Cubs at bay until manager Tito Francona pulled him two outs in the sixth.
For his 5 2/3 innings, Burns gave up three runs, six hits, walked only one of the free-swinging Cubs and struck out seven.
Francona took him out after his 100th pitch, but the bullpen protected the lead and Burns’ record swelled to 15-3 and the Reds are 19-7 for his starts.
Stewart’s homer came with two outs in the seventh, his 31st home run and 105th RBI.
If PCA is MVP, Saal Stewart is Rookie of the Year. Stewart also beat out a checked swing infield hit in the ninth inning.
PCA’s ninth-inning home run came with two outs in the ninth.
“He is as hot as anybody,” Francona said about PCA. “I was so glad when Pagan got the first guy out.That meant he couldn’t tie it. That’s how dangerous he is right now.”
There was some concern about the win. De La Cruz tweaked his left quadriceps beating out an infield hit one step from bag in the fifth innings and left the game in the seventh.
Francona said it is not considered serious and that he may play or be the designated hitter Monday night in Great American Ball Park against the San Diego Padres.
“We’ll be getting in late tonight, but we will have Elly looked at,” said Francona.
Before the game, Stewart and former Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo chatted in the Reds’ clubhouse.
Stewart playfully predicted he would hit a home run so he could show his love for soccer celebrations.
“We do have a lot of guys who love soccer celebrations so I said, ‘I’ll just do the Brunson,’” he said. He was referring to Kalen Brunson, a midfielder for the Queens Park Rangers and NBA star Jalen Brunson, who also loves soccer
When Jalen Brunson buries a three-pointer, he puts his hand across his face and makes a scowl, just as soccer player Kalen Brunson does after scoring a goal.
So, as promised to Rizzo, when Stewart homered, he put his hand straight across his face and scowled, “I just changed it up for the boys, having a good time.”
Asked about his power, Stewart said, “Just my preparation. I trust in what I do and trust in my preparation. I trust the people around me who guide me. So I just have to go out there and execute.
Talking about leading MLB in RBI, Stewart said, “I never try to chase numbers. I just try to go out there and enjoy the game with my guys.
“It hasn’t gone the way we wanted it to, we could have played better, so I just try to go out there and enjoy the moment. It would be great, obviously, I work hard for it, but I just want to enjoy the game with my guys.”
Former Reds first baseman Joey Votto was part of the NBC broadcast and talked glowingly about Stewart and said, “I love that he deflects everything to the team.”
Votto and Stewart talkd before the game and Stewart said, “Ah, man. He’s such a great player. I watched him while I was growing up. He is the epitome of a complete hitter, so it was really cool to sit next to him.”
Burns is now at 145 innings, virgin territory for a guy who never pitched more than 105 innings for one year in his life.
Francona, though, disputes that Burns has hit a wall, that he is fatigued.
“Everybody’s talked about that,” said Francona. “I understand why. But he’s held his stuff all year. And that’s a great credit to that kid.
“It’s not a knocked on him, he just has never been through it before,” he added. “He took it to heart with his arm-care program. If not, he would have run out of gas, but he hasn’t.”