Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong controls NL MVP narrative with three-HR game

Facing his second pitch of the day, Crow-Armstrong hit a leadoff home run for the eighth time this season. According to MLB stat guru Sarah Langs, that ties Rick Monday (1976) for the second-most in Cubs history behind Alfonso Soriano's 12 in 2007.

Crow-Armstrong would hit home runs in the first, second and seventh innings while also adding a fourth-inning single to finish 4-for-6 with six RBI.

Will three-homer game be the moment that pushes Pete Crow-Armstrong to MVP?

There are certainly plenty of Crow-Armstrong highlights to pull from this season when talking about whether or not he or Ohtani should be the NL MVP. However, the timing of the three-homer game could not have been better for the 24-year-old center fielder.

With Ohtani's return to the mound put on hold by the Dodgers and the Japanese superstar in the middle of a stretch where he is hitting just .125 in his last seven games and .225 in his last 14 entering Saturday's play, Crow-Armstrong putting on a power display could stand out to Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) MVP voters with a month left in the regular season.

PCA's big game on Saturday also came at a good time for the Cubs, who were just 4-6 over their last 10 games, slipping in the NL Central standings behind the Milwaukee Brewers, who were 7-3 over the same stretch.

Yes, there are still 26 regular-season games to go for the Cubs. However, what Crow-Armstrong did on Saturday could be a defining moment of Chicago's 2026 campaign and his push to win MVP.