Cubs Recap and Notes

Pop signed a minor-league contract with the Cubs on Wednesday, Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register reports.

Pop has spent time in the majors with the Mariners and Mets this season, allowing 11 earned runs over just 6.2 innings. He’ll get a chance to rebound in the Cubs organization, though he’ll likely need to turn in a few strong outings at Triple-A Iowa before getting a chance in Chicago’s bullpen.

Kriske tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Royals. He allowed a hit and two walks while striking out one.

Kriske has now logged three scoreless appearances to begin his tenure with the Cubs, spanning five innings. The 31-year-old righty has bounced between the minors and majors during his career, and he’s probably nothing more than organizational depth at this point. However, Kriske has pitched well, so it’s possible he sticks around in Chicago and sees more meaningful relief work down the road.

Crow-Armstrong went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Royals.

Following his first All-Star Game nod last week, Crow-Armstrong has come out of the break firing on all cylinders. Across his first five games of the second half, the young outfielder has gone 7-for-20 with two home runs and a stolen base. For the season, Crow-Armstrong now has 27 long balls to go along with 28 steals, putting a 40-40 campaign well within reach.

Shaw went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Royals.

The rookie took Steven Cruz deep in the seventh inning, Shaw’s fifth homer of the season and third in the last five games. He’s batting .474 (9-for-19) since the All-Star break, adding two steals, four runs and six RBI to his long balls, but he still has a lot of work to do to climb out of the hole he dug prior to the Midsummer Classic — over his last 25 games before the break, Shaw slashed a woeful .107/.198/.147.