‘We’ve got tired players’ at close of 17 games in 17 days, but Cubs have thrived during challenging stretch

KANSAS CITY – Pete Crow-Armstrong is perhaps baseball’s best defender. But for the second time in four games, the Cubs’ MVP candidate was not in his usual spot center field but DH’ing, off his feet once more as the team comes to the end of a stretch of 17 games in 17 days. “We’ve got tired players, for sure,” manager Craig Counsell said before Saturday’s game, a 6-3 loss to the Royals. It’s a daunting stretch for any team, but in the face of such a physical challenge, the Cubs have thrived,…