Tucker leads rout with his first multi-HR game for Cubs

ANAHEIM -- Maybe all Kyle Tucker needed was a trip to Angel Stadium.

After going 25 games without a home run — his longest stretch since the first 27 games of his career -- the All-Star right fielder hit his second and third within 24 hours, kick-starting the Cubs’ 12-1 rout of the Angels on Saturday night.

“This is the nature of the game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “We don’t want slumps. We hate slumps. They’re mentally exhausting to go through, but they happen. Kyle will be better moving forward because of this, but it’s part of the game that happens and you got to get through it. He’s a great player. He works hard to figure it out and get back on track.

“We need him to do it, and he’s done so.”

After posting a slash line of .291/.395/.537 with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs through June and being named an All-Star for the fourth consecutive year, Tucker’s numbers nosedived.

Tucker slashed .189/.325/.235 from July 1 through Aug. 18 while playing through a hairline fracture in his right hand -- only recently revealed. He sat in three straight games earlier this week as part of a mental reset.

“Mentally, he needed some days,” Counsell said. “It wasn’t a physical thing, it wasn’t a mechanical thing. At that point mentally as a player, you just need some days where you’re watching the game and don’t have to worry about performing.”

Looks like that’s worked out so far. Tucker’s first-inning home run on Friday was also his first extra-base hit this month.

Tucker kept it going on Saturday. He felt like he was late on his swing after a flyout to left field in the first inning. So he made a mental note to start early next time.

The result: He jumped on a sinker down and in from Halos starter Victor Mederos, driving the ball a Statcast-projected 399 feet to right field for a two-run homer to put the Cubs on the board in the top of the third inning.

Three innings later, Tucker did it again. This time, he took advantage of a hanging changeup from reliever Carson Fulmer and hit the ball to almost the same spot in right field as his first one. That brought in three runs as the Cubs’ lead ballooned to 10 runs.

“I kind of figured if I could just get that timing -- just be a little bit early and start with things a little bit early -- I’ll be fine,” Tucker said. “I tried to do that in the next couple at-bats, and it worked out well.”

It also might have something to do with the ballpark.

In his last 25 games against the Angels, Tucker has slugged .839 with 11 home runs and 26 RBIs. He has homered in four of his last six games at Angel Stadium. He has a 1.030 OPS with 27 home runs and 69 RBIs in 81 career games against the Halos, an opponent he’s familiar with from his seven years with the Astros.

If you ask Tucker, he just tries to put good at-bats and good swings together regardless of where or who he’s playing. But Reese McGuire, who tied his career high with five RBIs -- which also happened at Angel Stadium, on April 7, 2024, as a member of the Red Sox -- had a different perspective.

“It must be the West Coast air or something,” McGuire said. “I remember having a good series here last time and for sure, as a baseball player, I think when you feel good in a ballpark, you can add some confidence to a series.”

With 10 combined RBIs from Tucker and McGuire, paired with six scoreless innings and seven strikeouts on the mound from starter Cade Horton, the Cubs were clicking on all cylinders on Saturday.

“Tonight, we did that,” Horton said. “And it was really special to watch. [Kyle's] been putting in the work. We knew he was going to turn the page at some point, and it’s a great time to do that.”