The Chicago Cubs continued their late-season surge Friday with a commanding 12-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, adding another rough outing to Miles Mikolas’ difficult season.
Mikolas, who on July 4 tied a major league record by giving up six home runs in a single game, was tagged again by Chicago’s bats. He allowed three more longballs, including a milestone shot from Pete Crow-Armstrong. Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch took the St. Louis starter deep as well.
Crow-Armstrong crushed his 30th home run of the year, joining the exclusive 30-homer, 30-stolen base club. At just 23 years old, he became only the second Cubs player ever to reach that mark, alongside Sammy Sosa.
The damage against Mikolas has been a recurring storyline. Crow-Armstrong has dominated the veteran right-hander throughout his career, going 7-for-9 with five home runs. Two of those games have included multiple homers off Mikolas, cementing what has become one of the more lopsided hitter-pitcher matchups in the National League.
Adding to the record books, Crow-Armstrong’s blast also made him the first Cubs player to ever hit at least 30 home runs, steal 30 bases and record 30 doubles in the same season.
Chicago, which has already secured a postseason berth, wraps up its weekend series against St. Louis before opening the National League wild-card round Tuesday, Sept. 30. The Cubs, however, are still battling for home-field advantage. They need one win in their final two games, or one San Diego Padres loss, to clinch the No. 4 seed and host the first round at Wrigley Field.