LOS ANGELES -- It wasn¡¯t too long ago that Pete Crow-Armstrong had a very different vantage point when he came to Dodger Stadium. The 22-year-old rookie outfielder, a native of Sherman Oaks, Calif., grew up attending games at Chavez Ravine, watching from the stands as an aspiring pro ballplayer.

Cut to Tuesday night, and suddenly he¡¯s out there, manning center field and saving the game for the Cubs with his glove.

Crow-Armstrong made several impressive plays in Chicago¡¯s 6-3 victory over the Dodgers, none more striking than his ninth-inning home run robbery to end the game and secure a series win.

"Against great offenses, you know you need to make plays, and you need to make those plays to stop rallies to just give your pitchers a chance,¡± said Cubs manager Craig Counsell. ¡°¡­ Pete was incredible tonight. He made some really special plays. The last one capped it off. That one's gonna be played a lot, for sure, and deserves to be."

Crow-Armstrong contributed on both sides of the ball, driving in the game¡¯s first run in the top of the second and hitting an RBI groundout as part of the Cubs¡¯ five-run rally in the eighth. But it was his defensive work that really turned heads.

With a runner on first, two out and the Cubs trailing by two in the bottom of the seventh, Kik¨¦ Hern¨¢ndez flied one to the right-center-field gap. Crow-Armstrong covered 106 feet to make a sliding catch on the warning track, prompting pitcher Shota Imanaga to throw his hands in the air and applaud.

"Pete out there saved the team,¡± Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. ¡°¡­ When the ball went in the air, I was prepared for a run, but when it was coming down, knowing it was Pete, I had faith in him, and he made a fantastic play.¡±

One inning later, the Cubs now up by three runs, Shohei Ohtani hit a fly ball to the same part of the ballpark off Nate Pearson. This time, Crow-Armstrong had to run 107 feet, but he made it once again, recovering from a brief moment of confusion with right fielder Cody Bellinger to make a nifty behind-the-back grab.

"Honestly, it feels like he has some like Velcro or something in his glove, because he just kind of keeps making these great plays,¡± designated hitter Seiya Suzuki said through Stanberry. ¡°It's terrible for them."

The Cubs remained up by three heading into the bottom of the ninth, and right-hander Porter Hodge retired the first two batters he faced before walking Miguel Rojas. Hodge worked the count full against Max Muncy, who¡¯d homered earlier in the game. He nearly did it again when he turned around a 96.3 mph four-seamer a Statcast-projected 383 feet to right-center field.

There was Crow-Armstrong once more, perfectly timing his leap to bring the ball back from over the wall and give the Cubs the win.

"I was just ready for the contact,¡± said the outfielder. ¡°We were playing pretty deep. The most important run is the one on deck. And, yeah, we were just trying to take away any ball, I guess. But I just saw ball up and went for it."

The play felt meaningful for Crow-Armstrong in two ways. It came following a scary moment during the Muncy at-bat in which Hodge felt his heart begin to race, prompting a visit from Counsell and a trainer as he regained his breath. It¡¯s something Hodge has experienced before, and he knew the feeling would pass momentarily, according to Counsell. Once it did, Hodge went right back to work. Three pitches later came Crow-Armstrong¡¯s play -- and he couldn¡¯t have been happier to make it for his pitcher, given what had just happened.

Then there¡¯s the nostalgia factor. Although Crow-Armstrong played at Dodger Stadium in the 2022 Futures Game, this series marks the first time he¡¯s played here as a Major Leaguer. And the specialness of being able to make big plays in this particular venue isn¡¯t lost on him.

"I love it,¡± said Crow-Armstrong. ¡°I don't think I quite grew up hoping for any of this stuff. I didn't grow up a Dodgers fan, but I came to a lot of games here and spent a lot of time here. Matt Kemp was the center fielder, growing up, for me. And just feels cool kind of roaming around where I watched from afar a lot. And it feels better winning these last two and going into tomorrow with some good momentum.¡±

The Mets lost and the Braves won on Tuesday to pull even for the third and final National League Wild Card spot, leaving the Cubs four games back with 17 games to play.