Crow-Armstrong's leadoff and walk-off homers power Cubs past White Sox in 10 innings

Leadoff and walk-off homers in the same game

Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong produced the headline feat of the night, becoming the first major-league player since 2010 to hit a leadoff home run and a walk-off home run in the same game. He opened the scoring with a 376-foot solo shot off White Sox starter Luis Castillo on the first pitch of the bottom of the first, then ended the contest with a 391-foot, two-run drive to right field off Hagen Smith leading off the bottom of the 10th. The All-Star finished 4 for 5 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a walk as the Cubs rallied for a 7-5 victory over the visiting Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field.

A 30-30 season and another historic benchmark

Crow-Armstrong's walk-off blast was his 30th home run of the year, making him the 10th player in MLB history to record back-to-back 30-30 seasons, reaching at least 30 homers and 30 stolen bases in consecutive years. He entered the contest batting .281 with 30 home runs and 31 stolen bases across his first 126 appearances. The Cubs' second-year star also became the first Cubs player to record consecutive 30-30 campaigns, underscoring his two-way impact at the plate and on the bases.

How the lineups traded the lead

The Cubs jumped ahead 2-0 after Crow-Armstrong's first-inning shot and a 440-foot solo homer by right fielder Seiya Suzuki. White Sox designated hitter Randal Grichuk answered with a 404-foot, three-run homer off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga in the fourth, and shortstop Nico Hoerner drove in two more with a single in the fifth to put Chicago back on top 4-3. Pinch hitter Andrew Benintendi delivered a 378-foot, three-run shot in the eighth to give the White Sox a 5-4 lead, but Hoerner tied it in the ninth with an RBI single that scored pinch runner Tyrone Taylor. Relief pitcher Jacob Webb stranded two White Sox runners in the top of the 10th before Crow-Armstrong ended it in the bottom half.

Standings and what's next in the series

The victory improved the Cubs to 73-53, leaving them 20 games above .500 and 4.5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. The White Sox fell to 65-59 but retained first place in the American League Central, 4.5 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers. The Cubs were set to host the White Sox in the second game of the rivalry series at 8:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

What remains uncertain

Reports differ on the exact size of the achievement. UPI characterized Crow-Armstrong as the first MLB player since 2010 with leadoff and walk-off home runs in the same game, while Field Level Media cited MLB.com in calling him the sixth player in history to accomplish the feat, without naming the five predecessors. The discrepancy reflects whether the record is scoped to a defined modern era or to all of MLB history, and remains unresolved in the available coverage.