pete crow-armstrong

HOUSTON — Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci and Jac Caglianone homered as Italy built a big lead and held on to stun the United States 8-6 Tuesday night in the World Baseball Classic.

The U.S. is done with pool play at Houston’s Daikin Park and needs the Italians to beat Mexico Wednesday night to be guaranteed a spot in the quarterfinals. If Mexico beats Italy, the three teams will be knotted at 3-1 and the winners will be determined by a tiebreaker, with the team that allowed the most runs eliminated.

Italy starter Michael Lorenzen allowed two hits in 4 2/3 scoreless innings to keep the Americans off balance.

Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice and drove in four runs, and Gunnar Henderson added a solo shot for the U.S., but the rally came up short when Greg Weissert struck out Aaron Judge with a runner on to end it.

Crow-Armstrong’s second homer, a shot to the second deck in right field, cut the lead to 8-6 with one out in the ninth. Bobby Witt Jr. singled and Henderson struck out before Judge whiffed to start the Italian celebration.

The U.S. was down by 8-1 with two out in the seventh when Crow-Armstrong hit a majestic three-run homer to right field.

Kyle Schwarber and Will Smith hit back-to-back singles with two out in the eighth before Roman Anthony’s RBI single on a line drive to left field. But Ron Marinaccio retired pinch-hitter Bryce Harper on a fly ball to end the inning.

Teel’s home run to the Crawford boxes in left field gave Italy an early lead with two out in the third. McLean then plunked Caglianone before Antonacci’s homer to the bullpen in right-center made it 3-0.

Caglianone’s two-run shot off Ryan Yarbrough pushed the lead to 5-0 with no outs in the fourth.

The Italians added a run on an error, another on a sacrifice fly and a third on a wild pitch by Brad Keller to push the lead to 8-0 in a sloppy sixth by the U.S.

The U.S. finally got on the board with Henderson’s homer in the sixth.

What’s not to love about Pete Crow-Armstrong? The young, talented Chicago Cubs center fielder is somehow simultaneously super cool and fiery. Nicknamed simply PCA, he should be an entertaining and accomplished player to watch for many years.

And he’s Southern California born and bred, the product of esteemed diamond factory Harvard-Westlake High.

So why oh why did these words come out of his mouth during an interview for a 4,500-word article published Monday in Chicago Magazine?

“I love Chicago more and more,” he said. “It’s just an incredible city. The people are great. They give a [crap]. They aren’t just baseball fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to take pictures and whatever. They are paying attention. They care.”

The love of Chicago and Cubs fans? Understood.

The dissing of all Dodgers fans as photo-obsessed, uncaring whatevers? Laughable.

The Dodgers became the first team to draw four million fans in 2025 and have exceeded 3.7 million paying customers every non-COVID season since 2013.

And it’s a false narrative to suggest the devotion is merely a byproduct of back-to-back World Series titles and a star-studded lineup. Remember, the Dodgers didn’t win a title from 1989 through 2019, a 31-year drought during which their attendance exceeded 3 million 25 times.

So, where did a baseball-loving future MLB star growing up in Sherman Oaks come to such a contorted conclusion?

Blame it on dad.

PCA penned a first-person article for the Player’s Tribune in September that spelled it out:

“Growing up in L.A., my dad gave me a couple of rules. 1) I couldn’t root for the Dodgers. 2) I couldn’t root for the Cardinals.

“He’s from Naperville, just outside Chicago. He didn’t force me to be a Cubs fan, but let’s just say it was heavily encouraged.”

The Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years in 2016. PCA was 14, and he and his dad, actor Matthew John Armstrong, watched Game 7 together on television. Dad cried.

“I don’t think I fully got it in the moment, you know?” PCA wrote. “I was like, Dad, don’t be weird … stop crying. But I’m sure almost every Cub fan of a certain age had tears in their eyes that night. And now, a bit older, I get it.”

PCA signed with the New York Mets after being drafted 19th overall out of high school in 2020. He was traded to the Cubs a year later for Javier Báez, Trevor Williams and cash and swiftly rose through the minor leagues, making his Cubs debut in 2023.

Last season he broke out as a bona fide star, becoming the first MLB player to accumulate 25 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 70 runs batted in during the first half of a season. He also cemented himself as the top center fielder in the game.

PCA slumped during the second half and finished with 31 homers and 35 stolen bases to go with a .247 batting average. Although the fans might not have noticed with all the picture-taking and whatever, he has done well in six games at Dodger Stadium, batting .333 with a home run and five RBIs.

But according to his teammate and close friend Nico Hoerner, PCA feels at home in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field.

“That’s one thing that is very cool about him that not a lot of younger players get,” Hoerner said. “He couldn’t have more of an appreciation for the history of the game and playing in Wrigley Field. He’s excited to be a part of the city of Chicago in a way a lot of guys don’t really understand.”