Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani star as NL MVP race moves to another level

CHICAGO — Pete Crow-Armstrong was terrific once again. Same for Shohei Ohtani.

It was quite a day in an increasingly compelling race for the NL MVP award.

Crow-Armstrong homered twice and drove in four runs to help the Chicago Cubs beat Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 on Wednesday for a sweep of their three-game series. But Ohtani also went deep twice and finished with three hits.

“I do think they were going toe to toe,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You know, obviously, there’s a lot of talk about those two guys being the front-runner for the MVP. They both showed up, and you can see that they hear what's being said about them, and that was fun for the fans certainly.”

Crow-Armstrong, 24, is Chicago's regular center fielder, but he served as the designated hitter for the series finale against LA. That gave him an opportunity to take a closer look at Ohtani's brilliance at the plate.

“I just enjoy watching him play baseball,” Crow-Armstrong said. “So I guess today for me what was cool was just getting to watch him from a different angle and not worrying about going and trying to catch balls that are hit at 1,000 miles an hour.”

Ohtani and Crow-Armstrong exchanged leadoff shots in the first inning. It was Ohtani's 11th leadoff homer this season and No. 35 for his career. It was Crow-Armstrong's fourth career leadoff drive — all this season.

Crow-Armstrong added an RBI double in the second and a two-run shot in the fourth, a 405-foot laser that went off the videoboard in right field. It was the 31st homer to hit that videoboard since it was installed in 2015.

Ohtani capped the Dodgers' five-run eighth inning with a two-run drive to left-center. It was his first multihomer game of the season and No. 24 for his career.

“That’s two great players,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Yeah, they were kind of doing everything offensively for their teams, for sure. Pretty impressive.”

Ohtani won his second straight NL MVP award in 2025, smacking 55 homers and recording a 2.87 ERA in 14 starts on the mound for the Dodgers. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts this year, but he hasn't been able to pitch since July 3 because of left knee soreness and a right biceps injury.

While Ohtani has been limited to DH duties of late, Crow-Armstrong has become an offensive force while playing his usual stellar defense in center. The two-time All-Star is batting .288 with 26 homers, 28 steals and 69 RBIs in 115 games. He went 6 for 13 in the series against LA with two homers and five RBIs.

At the very least, he has turned the NL MVP race into an intriguing competition.

“He’s a great player but I’m really focused on myself right now on the hitting side of things and I’m really working towards hopefully getting back on the mound and just working on that side of the side of game as well,” Ohtani said through a translator.

Ohtani, 32, said his knee is feeling better, but it's hard to tell what the schedule is going to look like in terms of returning to pitching. Asked if the Dodgers' trade for Tarik Skubal affects his urgency level for getting back on the mound, he said he lets the front office decide the tempo of his progression.

“But at the same time it’s really nice to see Tarik on our side and being able to see him pitch live,” Ohtani said.

Ohtani, a four-time MVP and six-time All-Star, certainly isn't having any trouble at the plate. He is batting .457 (16 for 35) with four homers and nine RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak. He is hitting .297 with 26 homers, 70 RBIs and a .953 OPS in 109 games on the year.

“I think if you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching,” Crow-Armstrong cracked. “I really should."

Crow-Armstrong said he is more focused on the team's success than the MVP race, but he was honored to be mentioned alongside Ohtani.

“Simply put, just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as he feels, it’s awesome and it’s a nice nod,” he said.