Crow-Armstrong Homers as Cubs Near Clinch

Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong mashed his 45th home run of the season in a 9-1 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, and Chicago cut its magic number to one for a postseason berth. The Cubs (87-69) entered the day tied with the Padres for the top NL wild-card spot and one game ahead of the Phillies, with tiebreakers already locked over Arizona, San Diego, and Philadelphia.

David Peterson threw seven strong innings. Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner helped load the bases early. Pedro Ramirez drove in two. Michael Conforto and Seiya Suzuki also went deep. Crow-Armstrong's two-run shot in the fifth made it 8-1 and kept the power board loud as Chicago closed in on October.

Alex Bregman left after a foul ball off Michael Busch struck him near the on-deck circle. That is a separate medical watch, not a clinch stamp. Soft fantasy note only: Crow-Armstrong's 45 is the sourced power line. The next clinch window sits against Miami starting Tuesday if the magic number has not already gone to zero.

Wrigley October watch

Magic number one. Crow-Armstrong still launching.

One more push. Cubs can smell October.