Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs

The Cubs have a long history of players who have elevated their play to the level of being a showman. Look no further than Slammin’ Sammy Sosa, who stepped onto the field Saturday to rousing cheers from fans who either remember his power exploits or have shared stories for a younger generation. Pete Crow-Armstrong is currently authoring a season that will rank right up there with some of the great individual campaigns compiled over the ballclub’s 150 years. And with Sosa and a list of heavy hitters from Cubs history at Wrigley Field, Crow-Armstrong launched three home runs, including two in his first two trips to the plate in a 17-5 win against the Reds. “There were legends on legends down in the cage before the game,” Crow-Armstrong said. “If anything, the most intimidating part of today was doing my pregame routine in front of Sammy Sosa and Billy Williams.” During a chat before the game in the batting cage, Sosa actually made a request. “He was like, ‘I want three out of you today. I need three,’” said Crow-Armstrong, who cracked a smile. “Sure enough. I don’t know what he passed down to me there.” Crow-Armstrong led off the first inning by sending a fastball from lefty Andrew Abbott into the bleachers in right-center field to rev up the Wrigley faithful. One inning later, Crow-Armstrong went yard again -- this time ripping a curveball from Abbott off the pole down the right-field line for a two-run blast. It was an electric opening act for Crow-Armstrong as he continues to plant his flag as a legitimate MVP candidate in the National League. And the timing of his latest heroics added another layer to the debate. Not long before the Cubs took the field, news broke out of Los Angeles that two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani had a setback after throwing a bullpen session on Friday. Ohtani -- winner of the last two NL MVP trophies and a four-time MVP overall -- has been trying to build back up as a pitcher following a left knee issue, but has again hit a snag. If Ohtani is unable to build on his incredible pitching performance earlier in the season -- when he spun a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts -- that opens the door for Crow-Armstrong to keep building his case to unseat the Dodgers star as the MVP. Entering play on Saturday, Crow-Armstrong paced the Majors with 8.6 WAR (per FanGraphs), with Ohtani second at 6.9 (4.0 offensive WAR and 2.9 pitching WAR). Crow-Armstrong’s WAR was up to 9.1 after the game, putting him behind only Rogers Hornsby (11.0 in 1929), Sosa (9.9