# Wrigley's wind ate two Pete Crow-Armstrong homers > Two crushed balls died in outfielders' gloves, and the Cubs' offense went quiet at the worst point of a wild-card race. - Title: Wrigley's wind ate two Pete Crow-Armstrong homers | Shortify - Summary: Two crushed balls died in outfielders' gloves, and the Cubs' offense went quiet at the worst point of a wild-card race. Wrigley's wind is a coin flip that… - Keywords: cubs, mlb, wrigley field, wild card, pete crow-armstrong, news, local, Wrigley's, wind, ate, two, Pete - Source: Chicago Sun-Times — https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/09/13/chicago-cubs-pittsburgh-pirates-pete-crow-armstrong-craig-counsell-matthew-boyd-miguel-amaya-aaron-civale - Published: 2026-09-13T23:43:22.879+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: cubs, mlb, wrigley field, wild card, pete crow-armstrong, news, local ## Wrigley gives and takes The Cubs lost 4-3 to the Pirates on Sunday, and the ballpark itself did most of the taking. A northerly breeze turned two Pete Crow-Armstrong blasts into outs. > Wrigley Field giveth, and Wrigley Field taketh away. ## The first one dies at 371 In the third, Crow-Armstrong drove a ball to deep right. The wind shoved it back and Jake Mangum caught it on the warning track, 371 feet out. ## A look of disbelief Crow-Armstrong watched it land in the glove and stared. He had hit it well enough that the outcome made no sense to him. ## The no-doubter that doubted Two innings later he hit what looked like a sure homer, just to the wrong slice of the park. Oneil Cruz caught it in center, 389 feet away. ## Head back, mouth open The second one drew a bigger reaction. Crow-Armstrong threw his head back, mouth agape, as the ball settled into a center fielder's glove. ## He saw it coming Crow-Armstrong took it as the cost of the address. The park had been kind to him all season, so he figured a bill was due. > You got to expect that playing here. It's been a pretty friendly park all year, so I was probably due for a couple of those. ## What it feels like Asked what it's like to mash a ball and watch it get caught, he had a one-line answer that every Cubs hitter understands. > It just feels like you're playing at Wrigley Field. ## A quiet stretch for 41 His last homer came Monday, No. 41 on the year. He has now gone five straight games without one, his longest drought since a six-game gap from July 30 to Aug. 4. ## Counsell calls it a wash The manager framed the wind as a rotating tax. Two swings that leave the yard on a calm day stayed in on this one. > Pete took two very good swings. They're home runs on neutral days. But when he hit them, the wind was blowing in hard. ## Amaya beat the breeze Miguel Amaya hit a two-run homer to left at the same distance that killed Crow-Armstrong's drive, right before the second robbery. Same park, different luck. ## The bats went missing After Nico Hoerner's sixth-inning groundout scored the third run, the Cubs managed one baserunner over the last three innings, a two-out walk in the seventh. > Offensively, we weren't able to create anything today. ## Boyd's sixth inning Matthew Boyd carried a 2-1 lead into the sixth, then walked Bryan Reynolds to start it. A single and a Nick Gonzales double tied the game before he could finish. > It's just walking the leadoff guy, that just can't happen. It's completely on me. ## One hit, two runs Aaron Civale gave up a single hit across two innings of relief. It was pinch hitter Brandon Lowe's, and it scored both inherited runners. ## Bad day to go cold The Phillies beat the Braves to tie Chicago atop the NL wild card, with the Cubs holding the tiebreaker. The Padres sat two back on a six-game winning streak. ## Twelve games, no cushion At 83-67, the Cubs face the ninth-toughest remaining schedule, including three against the first-place Braves and a season-ending set with the Red Sox. > These are the fun games. This is the best part of the season, and you work really hard to get here. ## Key takeaway Wrigley's wind is a coin flip that cuts both ways, and the Cubs lost this one 4-3 with just 12 games left to settle their playoff spot.