Umpire Brian Wash BLOWS Strike 3! Pete Crow-Armstrong HOMERS on the NEXT PITCH.... #reds #cubs

Pete Crow-Armstrong opened the August 30, 2026, Cubs-Reds game at Wrigley Field with another reminder of why he’s an NL MVP favorite. Leading off against Cincinnati starter Chase Burns, the Cubs center fielder worked a tense at-bat that featured Automated Ball-Strike system drama and a missed call.

Burns then threw a pitch that caught the corner — one that should have been strike three. The umpire called it a ball instead. The Reds declined to challenge the call.

Given new life, Crow-Armstrong did not miss. He crushed the next pitch, a 98.9 mph fastball, 417 feet to right field for a leadoff home run, his 37th of the season and ninth leadoff blast of the year. The ball left the bat at 108 mph. Wrigley erupted as PCA rounded the bases, the latest chapter in a torrid stretch that included a three-homer game the night before.

The Cubs still lost 7-5, but Crow-Armstrong added a second homer in the ninth. In two games against the Reds he launched five home runs. The first-inning gift-and-punishment sequence captured his current form: even when umpires miss, he makes them pay.