Pete Crow-Armstrong adds 2 more HRs but Cubs fall to Reds - ESPN

CHICAGO — Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong continued a torrid stretch Sunday, hitting his 13th and 14th home runs of August to tie the franchise record for a calendar month. But Chicago dropped its third consecutive series — this one to the Cincinnati Reds — pivoting Crow-Armstrong's focus from himself to the team.

«It's been a tough last three series, but still got some baseball to play,» he said after the 7-5 loss. «So just going to keep doing what I'm doing, keep doing what we're doing. And I think we'll find ourselves in a nice position when the regular season's over.»

The defeat dropped the Cubs into a tie with the Philadelphia Phillies for the top wild card spot in the National League, though Crow-Armstrong continues to do his part to lead Chicago. He hit five home runs over the final two games of the series, leading off with a homer both Saturday and Sunday and topping off Sunday's contest with a ninth-inning blast.

«The ball just explodes off his bat and it's a no-doubt home run,» manager Craig Counsell said of his first-inning homer. «And then he does it again and he's making it look a lot easier than it is.»

Crow-Armstrong's 14 home runs in August are the most by any player in MLB in a calendar month this season and match former Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano's total in September 2007. He's also the fifth player in franchise history to accumulate five homers over a two-game span, joining teammate Dansby Swanson, who accomplished the feat earlier this season.

Hall of Famer Billy Williams is the only left-handed hitter in Cubs history to record 40 home runs in a single season. With 38 so far this year, Crow-Armstrong is likely to join him.

«I'm here because I'm a part of something bigger than me,»