The Chicago Cubs keep on slugging. On Monday, they didn’t even need Pete Crow-Armstrong to join the party.
In a home game against the rival and NL-best Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs exploded for nine home runs in a 17-3 win. The home run tally set a new franchise record for a single game. It fell one short of the single-game MLB record 10 set by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1987.
It also capped a hot-slugging August for the Cubs, who have tallied 62 home runs since Aug. 1. That set a new record for the most home runs in a calendar month by an NL team. Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, it adds up to the second-most home runs in a calendar month by one team in MLB history, trailing only the New York Yankees, who clobbered 74 in August of 2019.
Starter Kyle Harrison caught the brunt of the damage with five home runs and nine earned runs allowed in a start that inflated his ERA from 2.79 to 3.45.
But he wasn’t the only Brewer to get battered. By the time the Cubs tallied 13 runs through seven innings, they waved the white flag and stopped sending pitchers to the mound.
First baseman Andrew Vaughn capped the game on the mound for the Brewers in the eighth. His high lobs over the plate surrendered three more home runs before the game was done.
Crow-Armstrong — who totaled five home runs in Chicago’s two previous games to bolster his MVP case — did not contribute to the cause on a 1-for-5 night at the plate. Instead, it was Alex Bregman who led the way with three home runs as the only Cub with more than one.
Six other Cubs hitters got in on the action with a single home run each. And the Wrigley Field stands remained packed when it was done as fans celebrated with W flags and a joyous rendition of “Go, Cubs Go” to mark the vanquisment of their NL Central rivals.
The Brewers will have three more games to exact their revenge in the four-game series.
This story will be updated.
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