CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong exited after the bottom of the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 2-1 loss to the Nationals on Saturday at Wrigley Field with a right knee contusion.
On the third pitch of his plate appearance against Washington reliever PJ Poulin, Crow-Armstrong fouled an 89.5 mph sinker off his right knee. He stayed in the game and took three consecutive balls to draw a walk, giving Chicago two on with two outs.
The ensuing batter, Nico Hoerner, hit a grounder up the middle three pitches into his at-bat. Crow-Armstrong took off and slid into second base to beat a potential play at the bag. Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams ultimately got the out at first base to end the inning with his team still ahead, 2-1, but as the Cubs defense took the field, Crow-Armstrong remained on the ground for a few extra moments before motioning to the dugout.
He then walked — in clear discomfort — over to meet manager Craig Counsell in foul territory. After a brief exchange, Crow-Armstrong went into the dugout, and Counsell walked to home-plate umpire Tony Randazzo to give him a defensive substitution. Kevin Alcántara entered the game and took Crow-Armstrong’s place in center field.
