Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong broke for home as the 102.6-mile-per-hour ground ball from Carson Kelly darted toward Washington Nationals third baseman José Tena.

The speed of Crow-Armstrong was enough that Tena had to hesitate and look over at him. As the Cubs center fielder froze a few steps from the bag, Tena began to creep towards him. Crow-Armstrong slid back in safely and by then, Tena had no play at first base, Kelly reached first base safely.

[Cubs Takeaways: What we learned as Michael Busch shines in Washington]

“We got another out,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters in Washington D.C. after their 8-3 win. “And you give this team four outs in an inning – we like our chances.”

Instead of having a runner at third base with one out, the Cubs had runners at the corners trailing by two runs. Michael Busch – who finished a triple shy of the cycle – followed Kelly with a single, driving in Crow-Armstrong and moving Kelly to third base. The Cubs catcher scored a batter later on a Dansby Swanson sacrifice fly.

Two runs courtesy of capitalizing on a team’s gaffe. It’s no longer a fun trend for this team, but rather the team’s identity.

“It’s all just stuff that we take care of before the game,” Crow-Armstrong told reporters after the game. “I’m talking with [third base coach Quintin Berry] every pitch so he’s on the third baseman, he’s watching him.

“I was just working on getting back to the base hard and looking for something it if popped up.”

Part of it is game planning, for sure. Part of it – especially in Crow-Armstrong’s case – is speed and the pure chaos he can create on the basepaths.

“It’s awesome having Pete,” Cubs starter Cade Horton told reporters after the game. “Just being able to watch Pete – he’s one of the best players in the game. I’ve played with him since high school. So just seeing him grow and take off this year has been really special.”

Crow-Armstrong finished 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, two stolen bases and a pair of runs in the win. The two swiped bags moved him into a tie for first in the majors with 21. It’s put him in elite company – he’s the lone player on pace for a 40 home run, 40 stolen base season.

But that isn’t top of mind.

“I’m not at the 40-40 mark yet,” Crow-Armstrong said. “We’re 60 games into the year and we’re still trying to make sure we win this division.

“Especially just going into the break, trying to create some space for ourselves going into the second half.”