CHICAGO (Interstat) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his 42nd home run to match the Chicago Cubs record for a left-handed batter, finished with four hits and four RBI, and powered the Cubs past the Atlanta Braves 7-3 on Monday night at Wrigley Field. Crow-Armstrong’s two-run shot to right in the sixth inning off AJ Smith-Shawver pulled him even with Hall of Famer Billy Williams’ mark from 1970. Crow-Armstrong has 102 RBI, putting the All-Star center fielder over 100 for the first time in three full seasons. David Peterson, who is 8-8, allowed one run on three hits over six-plus innings for Chicago. The Cubs have won three of four and moved one-half game ahead of idle Philadelphia for the top NL wild card. Atlanta fell to 88-63, while Chicago improved to 84-67. The game took 2 hours, 40 minutes and drew 34,515.

Chicago built its lead with a three-run second inning and a two-run third. Ian Happ doubled and later scored on Carson Kelly’s forceout. Nico Hoerner singled and scored on Crow-Armstrong’s double, which also brought in Kelly. In the third, Michael Busch walked and scored on Hoerner’s single. Hoerner then scored on Michael Conforto’s double. Crow-Armstrong added his two-run homer in the sixth after Kelly singled, giving Chicago a 7-0 cushion. Crow-Armstrong singled in the fourth and eighth, finishing 4 for 5. Hoerner had two hits and an RBI. Conforto drove in one run. Happ doubled and scored. Seiya Suzuki also singled for Chicago. The Cubs finished with 10 hits.

Atlanta was held scoreless until the seventh. Michael Harris II singled, and Mauricio Dubón singled with Harris advancing to third on a throwing error by Alex Bregman. Sean Murphy’s forceout scored Harris. Mike Yastrzemski, batting as a pinch hitter, followed with a two-run homer to center field, cutting the deficit to 7-3. The Braves finished with eight hits but grounded into three double plays. One came in the second when Dubón hit into a double play after Harris singled. Another ended the eighth after Drake Baldwin singled and Matt Olson walked, with Ozzie Albies grounding into a double play. In the ninth, Atlanta put two runners on before Ronald Acuña Jr. grounded into a game-ending double play. Austin Riley and Dubón each singled in the ninth. Baldwin had multiple hits, including a single in the first and another in the eighth. Harris had two hits. Sean Murphy drove in a run. Yastrzemski’s homer was his 10th.

The Braves had early chances but could not capitalize. Ronald Acuña Jr. walked in the third, and Baldwin struck out to end the inning. Atlanta put two runners aboard in the fifth when Dubón walked and Riley reached on a forceout, but Murphy struck out and Ha-Seong Kim grounded into a forceout. In the sixth, Baldwin walked and Olson struck out before Albies grounded into a forceout. The Cubs, meanwhile, kept pressure on Atlanta’s pitching. Suzuki singled in the first, but Chicago left him stranded. In the fourth, Crow-Armstrong singled and Suzuki struck out after a pitch-result challenge was overturned. In the fifth, Chicago went down in order on a pair of lineouts and a popout. In the seventh, Busch and Happ drew walks, but Hoerner and Conforto each flew out. In the eighth, Kelly walked and Crow-Armstrong singled before Suzuki grounded into a double play.

David Peterson earned the win for Chicago. He allowed one earned run on three hits over six-plus innings, striking out seven. Ryan Rolison allowed one hit in a scoreless inning of relief. Ryan Zeferjahn allowed two hits in a scoreless inning and struck out one. Javier Assad allowed two earned runs on two hits in one inning, including Yastrzemski’s homer, and struck out one. Reynaldo López took the loss for Atlanta and fell to 4-5. AJ Smith-Shawver worked five innings for Atlanta, allowing four hits and two earned runs while striking out two. Chicago’s defense turned three double plays behind its pitchers, helping the Cubs protect the lead after Peterson departed. The Braves had chances in the late innings but could not string together enough hits against Chicago’s bullpen.

The Cubs continue their series with Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Chicago then travels to Cincinnati for a three-game series beginning Friday. Atlanta remains on the road for the second and third games of the series before visiting Houston for three games starting Friday. The Braves had won two of three against Philadelphia before Monday, including a 12-2 victory on Saturday and a 6-5 win in 11 innings on Friday. The Cubs had split their previous four games, including a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday and a 4-3 win over the Pirates on Saturday. Chicago’s offense has produced double-digit runs twice in September, including a 12-2 win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 11. Atlanta’s 88-63 record keeps it in playoff position, while Chicago’s 84-67 mark has the Cubs in the middle of the NL wild-card race. The Cubs are scheduled to host Miami for three games next week before traveling to Boston.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 6, Chicago Cubs 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chicago with a 54.6 percent probability to win. The Cubs had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 9.5, and the teams combined for 10 runs.