Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong flashes the leather in first MLB start in center field

DENVER — Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong reached the warning track and leaped just before the wall. He squeezed his glove, securing the ball before landing and spinning into the padding. His hat flew off.

After robbing the Rockies’ Nolan Jones of an extra-base hit in the first inning Tuesday, he immediately threw the ball to second base to make sure Kris Bryant didn’t advance.

“I have literally dreamed about making catches and tried to picture what it feels like,” Crow-Armstrong said after the Cubs’ 6-4 loss on Tuesday. “And I’d say that exceeds what I thought. But that’s just the preparation I’ve done and in the work I’ve put in. I expect to make those plays.”

Manager David Ross wrote Crow-Armstrong’s name into the starting lineup for the first time Tuesday, a day after the Cubs’ top prospect made his debut in the late innings of the series opener Monday at Coors Field. He went 0-for-4 with but drove in a run with a fielder’s choice for his first career RBI.

“I really appreciate the faith they’ve had in me and the trust they’ve had in me – enough trust to go out and play centerfield in a playoff race,” he said. But the goal is some more wins than we saw tonight.”

In Crow-Armstrong’s first two major-league games, he has shown plenty of talent, potential and some growing pains. But the Cubs expected mistakes as he transitioned from Triple-A Iowa. Taking those into account, they determined Crow-Armstrong could help them down the stretch — and beyond.

‘‘He’s exciting, he brings energy,’’ third-base coach Willie Harris told the Sun-Times before Crow-Armstrong’s debut Monday. ‘‘He’s going to make mistakes. . . . He’s a great student. He’s going to be fine.’’

So far, the most noticeable mistakes have come on the basepaths. When Crow-Armstrong made his debut as a pinch runner Monday, he showed off his speed. But he also tested Rockies catcher Elias Diaz’s cannon of an arm and was thrown out trying to steal third in the process.

On Tuesday, he read a pitch in the dirt and tried to take second on Diaz. Again, Diaz threw him out.

‘‘He’s young,’’ Ross said before the game. ‘‘He’s got to learn, just like everybody else. There’s teachable moments.’’

Even so, the moment hasn’t seemed too big for Crow-Armstrong. And it has come with the added fanfare of being the Cubs’ top prospect. When he stepped up to the plate for his first major-league at-bat Monday, chants of ‘‘P-C-A!’’ and ‘‘Let’s go, Pete!’’ broke out among the well-represented Cubs fan base in the stands.

‘‘I did not expect that at all,’’ Crow-Armstrong said. ‘‘It was very cool. To look back [behind] the first-base dugout and the rows going up, it was pretty mind-blowing. I mean, I saw people standing for the last two innings of that game. That was the first time I’ve been able to really feel how the energy of the crowd can turn things up for you.’’

Crow-Armstrong’s mom, actress Ashley Crow, who notably played Jenny Heywood in the baseball movie ‘‘Little Big League,’’ was visiting her son in Iowa before his call-up Monday. And she made it to Denver for his debut.

‘‘She’s my grounding factor most of the time,’’ Crow-Armstrong said. ‘‘So it was nice to kind of slow down for a second and give her a nice little hug and have a quick conversation.’’

Dad Matthew John Armstrong — also an actor, and a longtime Cubs fan — a couple of Crow-Armstrong’s high school coaches and six or seven of his close friends were in the stands for his first start, first RBI and first standout catch Tuesday. 

He then made a sliding grab in the sixth inning that was just as impressive. Jones hit a deep line drive into the right-center gap, and Crow-Armstrong came flying over, snagging the ball just before it could hit the ground. 

“Obviously a really good defender,” right fielder Seiya Suzuki said through interpreter Toy Matsushita, “and makes my life easy out there.”

As the Cubs push for a spot in the playoffs, Crow-Armstrong will continue to make improbable plays. And he’ll continue to learn — just in time for the postseason.

‘‘It’s the little things that can really help you run deep into a postseason,’’ Harris said. ‘‘And he has all of the attributes to do that.’’