Cardinals Facing Backlash After Pete Crow-Armstrong's Injury Scare

David Banks-Imagn Images

Cardinals Facing Backlash After Pete Crow-Armstrong's Injury Scare

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Tate Mosher | Last updated Jul 5, 2026 6:48 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs just wrapped up a three-game weekend series at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals took the first two while the Cubs salvaged the finale.

The Cardinals now sit at 47-40, third place in the National League Central with the Cubs right ahead of them at 50-40. The first-place Milwaukee Brewers are five and a half games up on the Cubs, seven on the Cardinals.

The season series is now 4-2 in favor of St. Louis. The two teams will play two more series against one another, July 27-30 at Busch Stadium and August 14-16 at Wrigley Field.

In Sunday’s game, Cubs star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong was hit by a pitch on the elbow in the bottom of the second inning. After jogging around a bit, the 24-year-old was able to stay in the game. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored in addition to the HBP.

Pete Crow-Armstrong went down in pain for a while after being hit by a pitch but is staying in the game pic.twitter.com/F7yn5YuTFI
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 5, 2026

Crow-Armstrong was hit by a pitch in Saturday’s game as well. The outfielder has generated a bit of a reputation as an emotional player throughout his first few seasons in the big leagues. He has been hit by a pitch 19 times since the start of the 2025 season, good for 10th most in MLB.

Replies under the X post seem to believe that the Cardinals were intentional with the HBPs.

One said, “Dirty birds.”

Another said, “Cardinals cant get him out so they try to injure him. Classy.”

Another said, “should be noted he is like our 3rd hit batter.” The Cardinals hit a total of five Cubs’ batters during the series, two of them Crow-Armstrong.

Mandatory Credit&colon; David Banks-Imagn Images

Recently, Crow-Armstrong has been on a tear. It culminated in him winning the NL Player of the Month award for June. Since June 1, he is hitting .389 with a ridiculous .796 slugging percentage and 1.277 OPS. He has hammered 12 home runs and has 23 RBIs during this time.

The now two-time All-Star did not start the year off right offensively, but has been exceptional on the defensive side of the ball all year long. Crow-Armstong’s 14 outs above average rank third in MLB (h/t Baseball Savant).

The two straight games with HBPs might be something to watch for with the 24-year-old, however. He looked considerably shaken up after both instances.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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