Cubs Cycle History
Pete Crow-Armstrong Achieves 13th Cycle in Cubs History Amidst Team Slump
Pete Crow-Armstrong made history on June 15, 2026, becoming the 13th Chicago Cubs player ever to hit for the cycle. The center fielder did it in style, completing a rare "reverse natural cycle" — home run, triple, double, then single — in a game against the Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field, according to MLB.com.
There was just one catch: the Cubs still lost, 4-3. Despite the historic individual feat, Chicago fell to 37-35 on the season, The New York Times reported. It was the Cubs' 35th loss of the year, and it stung.
How the Cycle Unfolded Inning by Inning
Crow-Armstrong wasted no time. In the first inning, he crushed a 434-foot home run off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen at 106 MPH exit velocity, according to MLB.com. He followed with a triple in the third, narrowly missing a second homer.
He doubled into the gap in the fifth inning to complete the third leg. Then, in the seventh, he singled to right field against reliever Brennan Bernardino to finish the cycle, TSN reported. Fans at Wrigley erupted. The 24-year-old was only the 11th player in MLB history to hit a reverse natural cycle, per ABC7 Chicago.
A Historic Feat That Could Not Save the Game
In the eighth inning, the Rockies' Cole Carrigg hit a 3-run home run to flip a 2-1 Cubs lead into a 4-2 deficit. Crow-Armstrong added a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3, but he was later picked off first base, ending the Cubs' last real threat, according to TSN.
Bleacher Nation captured the mood bluntly, headlining its recap: "Pete Crow-Armstrong Just Hit for the Cycle (And Nothing of Note Happened After That)." For Cubs fans, it was a perfect symbol of a frustrating 2026 — brilliant moments, ugly results.
Crow-Armstrong's Rise and the Cubs' Lineup Struggles
Crow-Armstrong entered the game scorching hot — 13 hits in his last six games, eight of them for extra bases, per TSN. His season OPS climbed to .845 after the cycle. He first made waves in 2025, when he became the first Cub ever with 30 home runs, 30 doubles, and 30 stolen bases in one season.
But the team around him has struggled badly. The Cubs hit a 10-game losing streak in May and fell back to .500 as recently as June 11, per The New York Times. Manager Craig Counsell said plainly: "It's time for us to deliver... we gotta have some level of production."
Trade Deadline Pressure Mounts as Cubs Tread Water
With the Cubs sitting at 37-35, the front office faces hard choices. Bleacher Nation noted that if individual performances like Crow-Armstrong's cycle cannot translate into wins, "uncomfortable conversations" about selling assets at the trade deadline become unavoidable.
Crow-Armstrong himself is locked in through 2032 on a 6-year, $115 million deal starting in 2027, per Baseball Reference. He is not going anywhere. But the Cubs need the wins to come with the highlights — and right now, they are not. The All-Star voting update showed no Cubs player near the top at any position, Bleacher Nation reported.
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