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Cardinals win pivotal game thanks to lollygagging outfielder

Pete Crow-Armstrong may not play for the St. Louis Cardinals, but he certainly had a huge part in their victory on Tuesday night.
ByJ.T. Buchheit|
Jun 22, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) returns to the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Jun 22, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (4) returns to the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Major League Baseball has fallen head over heels for young Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who is pacing the National League All-Star ballot among outfielders. But while the breakout star has dazzled to this point on the year, he looked downright foolish on a play in the bottom of the fourth inning at Busch Stadium with the St. Louis Cardinals holding a 7-5 lead, and his blunder ultimately helped the Cardinals snatch an extremely important victory.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's miscue helped the Cardinals secure a crucial win.

With one out and Masyn Winn on second base, Alec Burleson hit a deep fly ball that Crow-Armstrong brought in casually to end the inning — or so he thought. As Crow-Armstrong began to jog back to the dugout, he saw Winn dashing from second base and realized that there were only two outs. He rushed a throw back to the infield, but Winn, rounding third in his highest gear, beat the throw to the plate, and the Cardinals took a three-run lead.

Winn's baserunning acuity and hustle made the Cubs pay dearly for Crow-Armstrong's mistake, as the Cardinals brought home an 8-7 win. Impressively, this wasn't the first time in Winn's professional career where he scored from second on a flyout. In 2021, with the Low-A Palm Beach Cardinals, he accomplished the same feat after an excellent catch by the center fielder.

The first Cubs-Cardinals series of the season has been everything that Cardinals fans could have hoped for, with St. Louis blowing out the Cubs 8-2 in the first game and winning in a high-scoring nail-biter in the second, with the misplay by an emerging villain proving to be the difference in the game. Cardinals fans are relishing the opportunity to rub Crow-Armstrong's misplay in the face of their Cubs-supporting foes, raining delicious snark down on the North Siders who have revered the outfielder this season.

The Cardinals now hold a 44-36 record and are tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for second place in the NL Central. If the Cardinals manage to sweep the Cubs by winning the next two games in the series, they will be just 0.5 games behind their rivals, and the front office will have some very interesting decisions to make as the trade deadline draws closer.

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