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Crow-Armstrong hits 45th homer as Cubs beat Reds 9-1, edge closer to playoff berth

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Cite

Wallner, J. (2026, September 20). Crow-Armstrong hits 45th homer as Cubs beat Reds 9-1, edge closer to playoff berth. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/crow-armstrong-hits-45th-homer-as-cubs-beat-reds-9-1-edge-closer-to-playoff-berth/article_dd655a3d-5011-556a-99c9-8ba03783593c.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-20 · by Jeff Wallner

Quick Summary

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 45th home run as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 on Sunday, reducing their magic number for securing a playoff spot to one. The win left the Cubs at 87-69, tied with the Padres and ahead of the Phillies for the top wild-card position in the National League, giving them home-field advantage if they clinch. Chicago’s David Peterson pitched seven innings, allowing only three hits and striking out seven.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On Sunday, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-1 in Cincinnati, moving closer to securing a postseason berth. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 45th home run, contributing significantly to Chicago's victory. With this win, the Cubs reduced their magic number to one and could clinch a playoff spot if the Arizona Diamondbacks lose to the New York Yankees later that day. The Cubs are tied with the Padres for the top National League wild-card position and own the tiebreakers over the Diamondbacks, Padres, and Phillies. Additionally, Chicago's third baseman Alex Bregman left the game in the fourth inning after being hit in the face by a foul ball from Michael Busch while near the on-deck circle.

Written for “Cubs Edge Closer To Playoffs” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Cubs Edge Closer To Playoffs
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Who wrote this

Jeff Wallner
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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2026-11-01 · assertive framing · No. 6 Utah improves to 8-0 with 49-25 win over Cincinnati
🔮 Red Raiders QB Will Hammond lost a fumble and had an intentional grounding penalty forcing them to settle for field goals and take a 6-3 lead.
2026-10-24 · assertive framing · JC French IV has 4 TD passes as Cincinnati stuns No. 8 Texas Tech 37-24
🔮 Chicago (87-69) reduced its magic number to one and could wrap up a berth if the Diamondbacks lose to the Yankees later Sunday.
2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Crow-Armstrong hits 45th homer as Cubs beat Reds 9-1, edge closer to playoff berth
🔮 There was no decision yet on whether Bregman, who was going for X-rays and CT scans, would travel with the team back to Chicago following its 9-1 win.
2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Cubs 3B Alex Bregman sent to hospital for tests after being hit in face by foul ball while on deck
🔮 Blake Treinen took over in the second as the first of six relievers used by Los Angeles. Mookie Betts singled off Andrew Abbott in the third and scored on Will Smith’s double to put the Dodgers ahead 1-0.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Elly De La Cruz hits 2-run HR, Reds beat Dodgers 6-2 to delay NL West title
Also by Jeff Wallner
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2026-11-02 · Toronto Star
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2026-10-31 · Toronto Star
JC French IV has 4 TD passes as Cincinnati stuns No. 8 Texas Tech 37-24
2026-10-24 · Toronto Star
Cubs 3B Alex Bregman sent to hospital for tests after being hit in face by foul ball while on deck
2026-09-20 · Toronto Star
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Jeff Wallner →

Topics

CINCINNATI Chicago Cubs Diamondbacks Reds

Subjects

Cubs ORG · 6× Reds ORG · 3× CINCINNATI GPE · 2× Chicago GPE · 2× Diamondbacks ORG · 2× Padres ORG · 2× Phillies ORG · 2× Pete Crow-Armstrong PERSON · 1× the Chicago Cubs ORG · 1× the Cincinnati Reds ORG · 1×

Narrative

Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman left Sunday’s game in the fourth inning after being struck in the face by a foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch while standing near the on-deck circle.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 Chicago (87-69) reduced its magic number to one and could wrap up a berth if the Diamondbacks lose to the Yankees later Sunday.
2026-09-20 · Toronto Star
Crow-Armstrong hits 45th homer as Cubs beat Reds 9-1, edge closer to playoff berth · assertive framing

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 45th home run as the Chicago Cubs moved closer to clinching a postseason berth with a 9-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. asserted
Cubs → hit → Sunday
Chicago (87-69) reduced its magic number to one and could wrap up a berth if the Diamondbacks lose to the Yankees later Sunday. uncertain
Diamondbacks → reduce → Yankees
The Cubs began the day tied with the Padres and one game ahead of the Phillies for the top NL wild-card spot which would earn them home-field advantage in the wild-card round. asserted
which → begin → round
The Cubs own the tiebreakers over the Diamondbacks, Padres, and Phillies. asserted
Cubs → own → Diamondbacks
Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman left Sunday’s game in the fourth inning after being struck in the face by a foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch while standing near the on-deck circle. asserted
Bregman → leave → circle
Cubs left-hander David Peterson (9-8) allowed a run on three hits in seven innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. asserted
Peterson → allow → walk
The Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the third. asserted
Cubs → load → third
Ian Happ singled in a run and Nico Hoerner walked to force in another to extend Chicago’s lead to 3-0. asserted
Hoerner → single → 3
Pedro Ramirez’s two-run single made the score 5-0. asserted
single → make → score
Reds right-hander Rhett Lowder (6-12) allowed five earned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. asserted
Lowder → allow → walks
Michael Conforto’s 15th home run made the score 6-1 in the fifth. asserted
score → make → fifth
Three batters later, Crow-Armstrong’s two-run home run made it 8-1. asserted
it → make → ?
Seiya Suzuki hit his 25th homer of the season in the eighth. asserted
Suzuki → hit → eighth
JJ Bleday hit his 23rd home run of the season for Cincinnati. asserted
Bleday → hit → Cincinnati
Reds right-hander Carson Spiers allowed four runs and three homers in four innings. asserted
Spiers → allow → innings
He also struck out five. asserted
He → strike → five
Up next Cubs: Have not announced a starter for Tuesday’s series opener against the Marlins. asserted
Cubs → announce → Marlins
Reds: LHP Andrew Abbott (6-11, 4.70) is scheduled to start Tuesday in Atlanta. asserted
Abbott → schedule → Atlanta
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