CHICAGO — The National League MVP race turned into a personal duel at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, as Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani each clubbed two home runs in a see-saw affair. Chicago emerged with a 7-6 victory, completing a three-game sweep of the two-time defending World Series champions and sending the Dodgers to their sixth consecutive loss.

Crow-Armstrong, who also doubled and drove in four runs, has now vaulted past Ohtani in the MVP odds. Betting markets shifted overnight, with Crow-Armstrong becoming the favorite at -120, overtaking Ohtani who had held the lead entering the day. The 24-year-old center fielder is having a season to remember: he leads all major league defenders in outs above average, boasts a .938 OPS, and on Wednesday he became the first Cub ever to record back-to-back seasons with at least 25 home runs and 25 steals. His second homer of the afternoon, a solo shot in the fourth inning, gave him 25 on the year and pushed his career total to 67 home runs before age 25, second only to Hall of Famer Ron Santo in franchise history.

Despite the MVP buzz, Crow-Armstrong kept his focus on the bigger picture. "I would be crazy to say that I don't want to win an MVP, but if we're talking about having priorities straight, I think mine are pretty straight," he said. "It's not on the forefront of my mind. It's fun to joke about it, and it's fun to acknowledge. And I think it's absolutely OK to pay attention to, but it's not like following me up to the plate." He added with a grin, "I think if you guys want to talk about all this back and forth, I really should go get in the lab and start pitching. I really should."

His manager, Craig Counsell, is simply savoring the ride. "I think it's fun watching Pete have this season," Counsell said. "How that [MVP award] all happens, who knows. It's a season you remember. You remember seasons like this. You cherish seasons like this. That's the best part."

Ohtani, meanwhile, did not back down. The Dodgers' designated hitter also collected three hits and drove in three runs, including a leadoff homer in the first inning and another blast during a furious five-run eighth-inning rally. That comeback fell short when Chicago shut the door in the ninth. Ohtani hasn't pitched since early July due to left knee soreness, but he remains confident he will return to the mound at some point this season. "It's hard to tell what the schedule will look like," he said through his interpreter. For now, his role as a DH-only player has leveled the playing field in the MVP race—a race he has won the past two seasons in the NL, and four times overall.

When asked about the MVP competition, Ohtani was equally dismissive. "Not really," he said. "It's still too far away to think about that. For me, it's more important for the team to win." The Dodgers, now six games back in the division, head to Arizona for a critical series against the second-place Diamondbacks.

The game itself was historic in its own right. Crow-Armstrong and Ohtani each hit leadoff homers, marking only the second time in Wrigley Field history (since 1913) that both teams started a game with a home run. Crow-Armstrong's three hits all came off left-hander Eric Lauer, and his OPS against lefties has climbed to .937 this season after a meager .594 in 2025.

With thirty voters—two from each NL city—set to decide the MVP at season's end, the race is as tight as ever. But for one day at least, Crow-Armstrong owned the spotlight. "I just think simply put, just having your name in the same conversation as someone as profound as he [is], it's awesome and it's a nice nod," he said.

Crow-Armstrong also took a moment to appreciate the sweep of the defending champions. "I would feel much more accomplished taking them down at some point," he said. "I want to see this group in October because I think it'll be a dangerous group in the playoffs."