Crow-Armstrong’s Power Surge Meets Imanaga’s Home-Run Woes in Reds-Cubs Finale

On August 30, 2026, the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 7–5 at Wrigley Field. Rookie Sal Stewart hit a solo home run in the seventh, his third straight game with a long ball. The Reds added two-run homers from Dane Myers and Tyler Stephenson in the fifth. For Chicago, Pete Crow-Armstrong opened with a leadoff homer off Chase Burns and added a ninth-inning solo blast off Emilio Pagán. Left-hander Shota Imanaga surrendered three home runs—his sixth such outing this season—allowing the Reds to pull ahead and hold on for the win.

Rookie Sal Stewart homers for the 3rd straight game, helping the Reds beat the Cubs 7-5 Shota Imanaga allows three more home runs against Reds Chicago TribuneHeavySports Illustrated

Crow-Armstrong entered 2026 as a 24-year-old outfielder on an MVP-type trajectory. By the end of the series he had 38 home runs, 98 RBIs, 32 stolen bases, a .283 average and a .377 OBP in 137 games. The MLB Stats account noted his 15 second-half homers led the league, and Sarah Langs highlighted his 14 homers in August, the most by a player 24 or younger in a calendar month since Ken Griffey Jr.’s 15 in May 1994. These numbers tie the Cubs franchise record for left-handed hitters with 38 career multihomer games, second only to Billy Williams.

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Imanaga’s start marked his sixth season outing with three or more home runs, a Cubs franchise record. He entered the game having allowed a homer in six straight outings and was leading MLB with 33 home runs allowed. The Reds’ three long balls off Imanaga—two with runners on base—directly contributed to the loss and kept him tied for the league lead in homers allowed. Prior to this stretch he posted a 2.06 ERA over ten starts, limiting damage to one homer per 26.8 at-bats; the recent rate has slipped to one per 9.1 at-bats over his last four outings.

Chicago Tribune

Cubs manager Craig Counsell praised Crow-Armstrong’s season, calling it “wonderful” and “something special” for the organization. He also explained the roster move that saw left-hander Hoby Milner designated for assignment.

Chicago Tribune

• “I think Pete’s having a wonderful season. It’s a lot of fun to watch,” — Craig Counsell, Cubs manager

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• “I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, keep doing what we’re doing,” — Pete Crow-Armstrong

Shota Imanaga allows three more home runs against Reds