Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong becomes 1st MLB player to hit for cycle this season

CHICAGO (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong put his name in the Chicago Cubs' record book next to Hall of Fame slugger Hack Wilson — and then nearly ruined the celebration at Wrigley Field.

Crow-Armstrong completed the first cycle by a major leaguer this season with a seventh-inning single Monday night, then was promptly picked off first base by Colorado Rockies reliever Brennan Bernardino in a one-run game.

“My excitement was a little short-lived,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell quipped after his team scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 win.

Crow-Armstrong, who was a single short of the cycle Saturday in San Francisco, hit a leadoff home run in the first inning, tripled off the wall on almost the same trajectory in the third and doubled down the right-field line in the fifth.

When he came up again to lead off the seventh, the 24-year-old said he was more prepared for the moment than he might have been earlier in his career, or even earlier this season.

“Earlier, it probably made me a little nervous," Crow-Armstrong said. "I felt like I ‘had to’ instead of ‘I get to' hit in this really cool moment with this crowd of 40,000 pulling for me. I think I'm learning to use that to my advantage instead of me shaking in my boots when I'm up there and wanting to get the job done so badly. It's also a regular thing at Wrigley. That happens a lot."

With both Crow-Armstrong and the crowd fully aware of what was at stake, Crow-Armstrong lined a 1-1 fastball from Bernardino to right to finish the 13th cycle in Cubs history and only the second since 1993.

Just two Cubs center fielders have hit for the cycle since 1901: Crow-Armstrong on Monday and Wilson on June 23, 1930.

Crow-Armstrong was asked what that sort of history means to him.

“I know it’s a rare feat," he said. “It’s hard to answer questions like those when the game just ended and I’m processing a lot. Maybe I’ll have a better answer tomorrow.”

Crow-Armstrong also added a key sacrifice fly in the eighth to cut the Rockies' lead to 4-3.

“I absolutely put up great at-bats tonight and I’m proud of the production that I’ve helped have over the past few weeks,” he said. “But you saw it tonight: The game’s not over until it’s over. I did everything I could to help the team. But I also had a real lapse in focus and that really could have hurt us tonight. That’s what I’m talking about. Not going to dwell on that. Something so simple as someone gets in your ear and says that can’t ever happen again, and it can’t ever happen again.”

Crow-Armstrong has a 19-game on-base streak dating to May 26, hitting safely in 18 of those games. He's batting .402 with seven doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 12 RBIs during that span.

“Watching him every day, he's a player who overcomes your imagination,” Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga said through an interpreter.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong celebrates after hitting a single to complete the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong waves to fans after hitting a single to complete the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong watches his solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a single to complete the cycle during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies in Chicago, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dustin May took a perfect game into the seventh inning before finishing a one-hitter as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres 3-0 on Monday night.

Jimmy Crooks had a two-run double and Alec Burleson added an RBI double for the Cardinals, who won for the eighth time in 11 games.

May (5-6) struck out nine and walked one. He threw 69 of his 101 pitches for strikes during his first complete game in 71 major league starts.

The 28-year-old right-hander didn’t allow a baserunner until he walked Fernando Tatis Jr. to begin the seventh. Manny Machado singled one out later, putting runners at the corners, but Gold Glove shortstop Masyn Winn turned a nifty double play on Gavin Sheets’ grounder up the middle to keep it 3-0.

May struck out the side in the sixth and eighth. He became the first Cardinals starter to get an out in the eighth inning this year and the first to go the distance since Sonny Gray threw a one-hitter against the Guardians on June 27 last season.

It was the ninth complete game and sixth individual shutout in the majors this season.

Center fielder Jackson Merrill robbed Burleson of a home run against Lucas Giolito leading off the fourth. Giolito retired eight in a row before Lars Nootbaar and Winn had two-out singles. Crooks followed with a double to left-center for a 2-0 lead.

Iván Herrera walked with two outs in the fifth and advanced on a wild pitch before scoring on Burleson's double.

Giolito (2-2) allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings of relief after opener Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless first. Kyle Hart gave up one hit over two innings.

Hart was recalled from Triple-A El Paso when the Padres placed closer Mason Miller on the bereavement list. Miller, who leads the majors with 19 saves, will miss the series.

Padres manager Craig Stammen served a one-game suspension after Major League Baseball ruled that reliever Ron Marinaccio intentionally hit Baltimore's Gunnar Henderson with a pitch on Saturday. Marinaccio received a three-game suspension, but he appealed and remains eligible to pitch.

Padres RHP Michael King (4-5, 3.46 ERA) starts Tuesday opposite Cardinals RHP Andre Pallante (7-4, 3.88).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill jumps at the wall and catches a fly ball hit by St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson in the fourth inning of a baseball game, Monday, June 15, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

San Diego Padres' Manny Machado (13) is out at second base as St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn, right, turns a double play in the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, June 15, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May, center, is doused after the team defeated the San Diego Padres in a baseball game, Monday, June 15, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May throws in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Monday, June 15, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May celebrates after the team defeated the San Diego Padres in a baseball game, Monday, June 15, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)