Pete Crow-Armstrong is making a strong case for National League MVP as he leads the visiting Chicago Cubs in pursuit of a series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

The All-Star center fielder went 4-for-5 with three runs, two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and a stolen base as the Cubs rolled to an 11-0 victory on Saturday.

According to ESPN, he’s the first Cubs player to record at least 200 RBIs and 90 stolen bases before turning 25 since RBIs became an official statistic in 1920.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Crow-Armstrong, 24, has been on a tear because he has become selective at the plate.

“He’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Counsell said. “(He) can be on go and say no… I think there were points last year where he was on go and it didn’t matter where the pitch was. That’s the difference and that makes (him) the right kind of aggressive.”

Jameson Taillon (2-5, 5.38 ERA) is scheduled to start for Chicago. In his last outing, he received a no-decision after allowing four runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in an 8-6, 10-inning home loss to the Detroit Tigers.

It was his first appearance since suffering a left hamstring strain on June 7 that landed him on the 15-day injured list. The same problems that plagued Taillon all season resurfaced.

The right-hander gave up back-to-back home runs and left Chicago in a 4-0, first-inning hole. Even after missing time on the IL, he is tied for fourth in the majors with 22 home runs allowed.

Taillon has nine career starts against Pittsburgh and is 4-2 with a 4.58 ERA. In 53 innings, he has struck out 43 and walked 13.

“I’ll keep working behind the scenes to try and figure out the homer thing,” Taillon said. “It feels like that is the snakebite for me. It’s not like I am giving up a ton of hits in a row. It’s the untimely homer.”

The Pirates, meanwhile, are looking for a stronger effort from scheduled starter Braxton Ashcraft (9-4, 3.95 ERA), who struggled in his most recent appearance.

The right-hander allowed eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits while walking one and striking out two in an 8-5 loss at the New York Yankees.

Despite going 4-1 with a no-decision over his last six starts, Ashcraft believes he can pitch better.

He has fared well against the Cubs, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.42 ERA, 24 strikeouts and four walks over 22 1/3 innings in five career starts.

He earned a home victory over Chicago on May 26, allowing one run on seven hits while walking one and striking out five in 6 1/3 innings of a 12-1 Pirates victory.

“It goes back to execution,” Ashcraft said. “Being able to execute with two strikes. Being able to execute with runners in scoring position. That’s how you limit runs, and I’ve done a bad job of that probably the last five starts.”

Pirates manager Don Kelly said his club can avoid a sweep and snap a three-game losing streak.

“We need to find a way,” Kelly said. “We’ve shown the ability this year to bounce back and be resilient.”

–Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks will try to subdue All-Star CJ Abrams and the host Washington Nationals in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon.

Abrams finished a triple short of the cycle and drove in three runs in Washington’s 5-3 win on Saturday. The Diamondbacks hold the third and final wild-card spot in the National League, while the Nationals are two games back.

“Definitely enjoying (the pressure),” said Abrams, who is batting .293 this season, with 25 homers and 79 RBIs. “It’s exciting. We’ve done a great job coming up to this point, we’re playing good baseball, so we look to continue to do that.”

Arizona rookie left-hander Kohl Drake (0-0, 1.80 ERA) will oppose veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas (3-7, 5.60) in the finale.

Drake, acquired from the Texas Rangers last July in the Merrill Kelly trade, is coming off an impressive major league debut. Against the visiting Athletics on Tuesday, he pitched five innings, allowing a run on four hits in Arizona’s 6-5 win in 10 innings. Drake struck out five and walked two.

“Five innings, one earned run, I’d take that any day of the week,” he said.

Mikolas has followed an opener in his past two outings and could do so again on Sunday. On Tuesday, he entered in the second inning against the host Colorado Rockies and gave up three runs on six hits over 3 2/3 innings in his team’s 8-7 loss. In his previous appearance, he had tossed four scoreless innings against the New York Yankees.

Mikolas is 3-3 with a 3.79 ERA in eight games (six starts) vs. the Diamondbacks.

On Saturday, Abrams provided a two-run double in the third inning, a solo homer in the fifth and later added a single and stole a base. He has 17 stolen bases and a career-high 25 home runs in 101 games this season. He leads the major leagues with 79 RBIs, another career high.

Abrams and fellow All-Star teammate James Wood (28 home runs, 15 stolen bases) became the second duo in major league history to record 25-plus home runs and 15-plus stolen bases in their club’s first 105 games of the season.

Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez accomplished the feat for Cleveland in 2018.

“The leadership that they have in the clubhouse with how well they’re connected with all the guys, and then going out there and performing, it just takes it to another level,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said of Abrams and Wood.

Tim Tawa had two hits and Gabriel Moreno had a two-run single Saturday for the Diamondbacks, who had won four straight games.

Manager Tory Luvollo shook up the top of his lineup, moving Ketel Marte (who leads the team with 18 home runs) into the cleanup spot. Arizona was held to three runs for the second game in a row, and the top four hitters in the order (Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Moreno and Marte) went 1-for-14 against Nationals ace Foster Griffin and two relievers.

“I’ll take those top four guys up against anybody. I think we can pound the baseball no matter who’s up on the mound,” Lovullo said. “Overall, I believe in this team’s ability to go out there and score five, seven runs every single night. That’s what we need to get to.”

After starter Mitch Bratt departed, the bullpen kept the Diamondbacks within striking distance by providing three scoreless innings for the second game in a row.

The Nationals traded infielder Curtis Mead, 25, to the Boston Red Sox for rookie left-hander Connelly Early, 24, on Saturday night. Early hasn’t pitched since June 30 and went on the injured list July 1 due to left elbow inflammation. The starting pitcher is expected to return in August.

Early is 7-5 with a 3.44 ERA in 17 games (all starts) over 91 2/3 innings this season, while Mead is batting .254 with 17 homers and 48 RBIs in 87 games.

–Field Level Media

Salvador Perez made Kansas City Royals history on Saturday. Perez and his team will now look to come away with a split of a four-game series in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

Perez, who has spent his entire major league career with Kansas City, homered off Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan in the seventh inning for his 318th career long ball. That put him atop the Royals’ all-time list, surpassing Hall of Famer George Brett.

During Perez’s postgame interview on the field, the entire team stood behind him after the 3-2 win. Perez, who made his major league debut in 2011, never dreamed when he started his career that he would reach this point.

“Just having fun. Play hard. Play as long as I can in the big leagues, just make it to the big leagues when I was in the minor leagues,” Perez said of his early years. “I never thought I would make it to 318 homers.”

It was a costly loss for Detroit, which saw its three-game winning streak snapped. The Tigers are desperately trying to get within striking distance of a playoff spot and convince their front office to not trade off key players and impending free agents such as Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres.

“Obviously, you want to win them all, you want to execute perfectly,” manager A.J. Hinch said after his team’s setback. “Sport doesn’t always allow that.”

Framber Valdez will start the series finale for the Tigers. Valdez couldn’t get out of the first inning in his first start after the All-Star break.

Valdez was charged with six runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter before Hinch pulled him after 42 pitches of an 11-2 road loss to the Chicago Cubs last Tuesday.

“(Tuesday) was the worst game ever for myself being on the losing side,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “It feels terrible.”

He’s eager to get back on the mound and redeem himself.

“I was questioning myself, what’s going on?” he said. “I’ll do my best to make adjustments, to never let this happen again.”

Valdez (5-7, 4.57 ERA) had delivered his best outing of the season in his last start before the break, holding the Athletics to one run and three hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings on July 9.

He also had a strong outing against the Royals on April 14, limiting them to one run and four hits in seven innings. He’s 2-3 with a 3.05 ERA in 10 career outings (eight starts) against Kansas City.

The Royals’ scheduled starter is rookie Luinder Avila (5-3, 4.86). The right-hander was sharp in his last outing on Tuesday, as he lasted a season-high 6 1/3 innings and held San Francisco to two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts in a 3-2 home victory.

“Right from the get-go, aggressive fastballs down in the zone, upper-90s velo with good sink, slider in the zone,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, it was exciting to watch. That’s the high-end stuff that we know he has, and the ability to get in the zone, I know he’s worked really hard between starts.”

Avila praised the coaching staff for his success.

“All the credit goes to the pitching coaches,” Avila said. “They’re always there working with me. I just try to execute whatever they say.”

Avila tossed an inning of scoreless relief against Detroit on May 8.

–Field Level Media