Pete Crow-Armstrong hits game-tying RBI as Cubs beat Royals 7-3

“He’s a special person,” Crow-Armstrong said of Morel. “We’re definitely going to miss his energy and his smile. Reaching his full potential every day, Christopher Morel is a guy who shows up in the clubhouse every day.”

Crow-Armstrong had two of his three hits and his RBI against Royals starter Cole Ragans.

“I saw him pretty well,” he said. “I see lefties pretty well in general. He’s a really good pitcher. I’m glad he didn’t use his changeup against lefties, because that’s a good pitch. The Cubbies just had a really good offensive day.

“We want to have days like this every day to have a winning season.”

The Cubs (51-56) are 12-8 in their last 20 games after going 3-9 in their previous 12 games.

Javier Assad (5-3) allowed three runs on five hits in six innings.

“It was an impressive outing,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said of Assad’s day. “I don’t think Javi got off to a great start, (but) I think (catcher) Christian (Bethancourt) did a really good job of (sticking with him) and I thought Javi did a good job of maybe doing things differently than he’s done in the past.

“We saw some more off-speed stuff today, and he showed his off-speed stuff, which was really nice to see.”

Assad said he just wanted to get as far as possible in the race.

“I just tried to go out there and execute,” he said through an interpreter. “I started off a little shaky, but I just went out there and attacked the zone.”

Ragans (7-7) suffered the loss, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings.

“He gave us a good chance,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of his starter. “We were in the sixth inning and he gives us a chance. They gave him some good swings.”

Michael Massey led off the first with a walk before Bobby Witt Jr. extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an infield single. With two outs, Hunter Renfroe lined the ball to center, scoring both runners.

Nico Hoerner doubled in the third inning to tie the score at 2-2.

The Royals (57-49) regained the lead in the fourth inning with a controversial home run. Freddy Fermin hit a long fly ball down the left-field line that appeared to be headed for the foul pole. A fan in a Cubs cap reached over the railing from the foul area and caught the ball before left fielder Ian Happ had a chance. The whistle was blown for fan interference, giving Fermin his fifth home run of the season.

The Cubs took their first lead in the sixth. Michael Busch hit a one-out double, then scored on David Bote’s two-out double. Bote scored on Crow-Armstrong’s single, ending Ragans’ day.

“We had some good production today from the bottom of our lineup,” Counsell said. “Bethancourt and Pete did some really good things today.”

Chicago added three more insurance runs in the ninth inning, including Patrick Wisdom’s second home run in as many days.

Royals OF MJ Melendez returned from his rehab assignment and was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. He had been on the IL since July 15 with a sprained left ankle. In a related move, the Royals sent OF Drew Waters to Triple-A Omaha after Saturday night’s game. … Royals RHP John Schreiber left the game with right knee and patella soreness. … RHP Hunter Harvey left the game with spasms in his left lower back.

Cubs: Chicago continues a six-game road trip with the first of three games in Cincinnati. The Cubs will send RHP Jameson Taillon (7-5, 2.96 ERA) to the mound to face Reds RHP Carson Spiers (3-2, 3.83 ERA).

Royals: Kansas City travels to Chicago for the first game in a three-game series with the White Sox. RHP Alec Marsh (7-7, 4.75) takes on RHP Chris Flexen (2-10, 5.25) of the White Sox.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb