Crow-Armstrong powers Cubs past Orioles with record-setting 20-20 season

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two home runs and the Cubs outslugged the Orioles 9-7 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, turning a night of nine combined homers into a series win in Baltimore. The game was played Wednesday, July 8, 2026, and left Chicago at 52-40 while the Orioles fell to 42-51.

Crow-Armstrong’s pair gave him 21 home runs for the season and made him baseball’s first 20-homer, 20-stolen-base player of 2026. He joined Ryne Sandberg and Sammy Sosa as the only Cubs players with multiple 20-20 seasons, and Crow-Armstrong and Sosa are the only Chicago players to do it in back-to-back seasons. Michael Conforto, Carson Kelly and Seiya Suzuki also homered for Chicago, giving the Cubs five long balls in all.

Baltimore answered with four home runs of its own, including Pete Alonso’s 20th of the year, which put the Orioles ahead 3-1 in the fourth inning. The Cubs were out-hit 14-8, but Dean Kremer gave up four homers and took the loss, while Colin Rea earned the win for Chicago. The Orioles’ late push included four hits from Jackson Holliday, but Gunnar Henderson went 0-for-5 in a difficult night at the top of the order.

The fifth inning changed the game back in Chicago’s favor, as the Cubs kept stacking damage against Kremer and never let Baltimore fully recover. The result followed a 5-2 Cubs win on July 7, giving Chicago two straight victories in Baltimore and a series win built on power rather than contact.