Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong hit three home runs in a 17-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday, a performance that has strengthened his case for National League MVP honours. The 24-year-old began the game with a lead-off home run, added another in the second inning, and completed the feat with a third in the seventh, finishing 4-for-6 with six runs batted in. Cubs great Sammy Sosa, who was being honoured that day as part of the club's 150th Anniversary Team, reportedly predicted the three-homer game to Crow-Armstrong before first pitch.

The result extends Crow-Armstrong's lead over Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani in the MVP race, and he still has a chance at a 40-40 season, having hit 36 home runs and stolen 32 bases so far. Should he win the award, he would become only the tenth Cubs player to do so, following Kris Bryant in 2016 and Sosa himself in 1998, when Sosa hit 66 home runs.