Pete Crow-Armstrong stands out for the big, blue stars painted on his hair almost as much as he does for the way he swings his bat or patrols center field for the Chicago Cubs.
He put everything on display on Sunday to help the Cubs defeat the Yomiuri Giants in an exhibition at Tokyo Dome, and he might have earned some new fans in the process.
Crow-Armstrong set the table for the first run of the game with a double and a stolen base, and the Cubs used a four-run fifth inning to edge the Giants 4-2.
Crow-Armstrong, who also made a nice defensive play, heard chants of P-C-A coming from the stands at the Big Egg.
"The chant, it's a different feeling when it's coming all the way across the world, and you didn't quite expect it," he said. "I felt very grateful and welcomed."
After being shut out by the Hanshin Tigers the day before, the Cubs earned a split in two exhibition games against the Japanese clubs.
The team will open the MLB season against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Tokyo Dome on Tuesday.
Seiya Suzuki, who heard loud cheers all night, walked in his first at-bat and finished 0-for-3.
"I think Seiya is right where we need him to be," Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. "The Giants made some good pitches on him tonight in some big spots with some good offspeed pitches.
"But he's ready for the season. He's had a productive, healthy spring, and I look forward to him being in the middle of the lineup for the entire season."
Crow-Armstrong doubled to start the fifth and excited the crowd when he stole third. Gage Workman hit a one-out single to right to open the scoring.
Chicago got another run when Giants starter Foster Griffin threw a wild pitch to Suzuki with the bases loaded. Shaw hit a two-run single later in the frame to make the score 4-0.
The Giants cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning on a two-run double by Kazuma Okamoto.
Yomiuri outhit Chicago 8-6 but could not put any more runs on the scoreboard. The Giants lost both games against the Cubs and Dodgers.
The Cubs' team song "Go Cubs Go" was played in the stadium after the final out.
Chicago now looks toward the season opener against the Dodgers. The team will hold a practice on Monday.
Los Angeles will have the most popular player on the field in Shohei Ohtani, but perhaps “PCA” can bring some of the Japanese fans over to the Cubs’ side.
"It's a game that shows what Pete can do on the field," Counsell said. "He can do everything really. He can affect the game in many ways, you saw with his speed on the bases, you saw just the defense, to cut the ball off in the gap was a brilliant play to keep that to a single. That's what Pete offers on a daily basis.
"The hair is better this year," Counsell said. "You have to get better from year to year. Last year, he went with blue hair. This year, the stars, it's an improvement. Just like a rookie gets better the second year, he's getting better."
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