PCA’s Redemption Arc Comes Just in Time for Brewers Matchup
Far be it for me to overstate the power of my mojo, but the Cubs are now 5-1 in postseason games following my attendance. That’s because they’re 0-6 when I’m actually there, and the feeling of letting me down is so strong that they can’t help but clean things up. Or maybe it’s not just me. Maybe it’s all the fans at Wrigley and around the world who mean so much to the players.
One player in particular was stoked to be able to deliver for the 15% of the world that shows up at Wrigley while 85% of the rest of the f—in’ world is working. That would be Pete Crow-Armstrong, who turned to the bleachers and bellowed a primal scream after securing the last out of the game to send the Cubs to the NLDS against the Brewers.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I wasn’t thinking about being able to turn around and say something to those people out there,” PCA said after the game. “We owe everything to those people coming out and showing up every day. They’re just as much a part of this as these people in this clubhouse.”
THE CUBS HAVE MORE #POSTSEASON BASEBALL TO PLAY 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/R8JMkv8NrN
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) October 3, 2025
It was fitting that he was the one to make the catch after going 3-for-4 and driving in the Cubs’ first run of the game. He also made a play in the 1st inning that has more or less become routine for him, sliding to snag a 111.2 mph liner from Manny Machado that had a 10% catch probability. Statcast defines a 5-Star play as one with anywhere from a 0-25% catch probability, and PCA has no equal in that category.
His 17 5-Star catches this season were more than the next two players combined (Wilyer Abreu – 9, Rafaela Ceddanne – 7), and he did it in 29 attempts vs. 50 combined for those two. PCA’s 58.6% conversion rate on those unlikely snags is 21.1 points better than the second-place Abreu, so it’s more than fair to say the 23-year-old Cubs star does things no other defensive player can do.
Plucking that Machado liner out of the air may have been just the spark of confidence Crow-Armstrong needed to get going offensively after starting the series 0-for-6 with five strikeouts. Padres pitchers were toying with him, getting him to chase high fastballs and uncompetitive breaking balls throughout the first two games. Even getting ahead in the count didn’t matter.
“I don’t handle my failure very well,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I think that’s going to be a really good part of my growth as a baseball player and as a Major Leaguer. But anything like that goes away — any frustration, anything — that all goes away when you get to share it with these people.”
It really started to go away when he served a middle-middle Yu Darvish fastball to center for an RBI single that felt much bigger with how scarce offense has been in this series. And though he did strike out his next time up, after jumping ahead 3-1 no less, PCA collected two more singles the rest of the way. The first was just under 101 mph in a full count against Robert Suarez, and the second was laced at 109.4 mph on the second pitch he saw from David Morgan.
“It’s about damn time.”
PCA after recording his first #Postseason hit 💪 pic.twitter.com/Z9aBXfXDfl
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) October 3, 2025
To battle with the NL saves leader and come away with a sharp knock may have been more of a relief than the hit against Darvish, coming after fouling off three previous fastballs. That locked him in for his final trip to the plate, and the momentum he was able to build in the deciding game could well carry over to Milwaukee. And while you typically want to capitalize quickly on emotion, having a day off before the next series is probably a good thing after the way the Cubs played in the wake of their last champagne celebration.
