Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals

WASHINGTON – While Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong has been making noise and grabbing headlines in the National League MVP debate, Seiya Suzuki has been doing plenty of damage hitting behind the North Siders’ dynamic leadoff man. In an 8-6 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night, Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki once again helped power the Cubs’ offense. Crow-Armstrong launched a jaw-dropping homer in the third inning, while Suzuki delivered a run-scoring double and also belted a homer as Chicago took the opener of the three-game set at Nationals Park. “They’re forming a one-two punch that is as good as there is in baseball,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said this past weekend. Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s win: **1\. Working and chasing Irvin** Heading into Tuesday’s game, no team in baseball had compiled more plate appearances (4,713) or seen as many pitches (18,642) as the Cubs this year. Chicago’s average of 3.96 pitches per plate appearance sat just a fraction below the Brewers (3.97) for the highest rate in the NL. Nationals starter Jake Irvin got to experience first-hand how the North Siders can wear a pitcher down. By the third inning, the Cubs had forced Irvin to toil through 75 pitches, including 31 in the second inning alone. Alex Bregman had a pair of 10-pitch plate appearances against the righty. Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki each had a nine-pitch battle. When Irvin exited the game after 3 1/3 innings, he had thrown 88 pitches (56 strikes). “It was a real example, I think, of a strength of our offense and what our offense can do to a pitcher,” Counsell said. “I think that’s our offense at its best, really. We didn’t maybe put up the big number, or get the big hit – the home run with men on base or the double with men on base – but man, those first five innings, we made it really hard on them every single inning.” That helped Chicago get an early jump on the Nationals’ bullpen, which carried a 4.84 ERA (14th in the NL) into Tuesday’s game. Dansby Swanson worked a bases-loaded walk against reliever Max Kranick in the fifth, and Bregman delivered a two-out solo shot off Washington’s Orlando Ribalta in the sixth. Suzuki then went deep off Miles Mikolas in the eighth for his 20th homer of the year.