CHICAGO -- Kyle Tucker arrived at his locker in the Cubs’ clubhouse on Sunday evening with a fresh scrape near the top of his nose. It was the result of his hard slide into second base in the first inning -- a rough landing that included his helmet flying off and hitting him in the face.
“This probably looks worse than it is,” Tucker said.
The cut was less of a concern than the jammed right ringer sustained on the same stolen-base attempt, forcing Tucker to exit early in the Cubs’ 7-3 win over the Reds at Wrigley Field. While Chicago’s lineup continued to do its thing and Jameson Taillon cruised in another quality start, seeing Tucker leave in the fifth gave Cubs fans a scare.
Tucker underwent X-rays that came back negative for any structural damage and both the star right fielder and Cubs manager Craig Counsell downplayed the injury. With an off-day scheduled for Monday, Tucker will have some extended rest to let any swelling subside and then see if he can return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Nationals.
“I’m optimistic this is going to be, at most, a day or two,” Counsell said.
And Tucker plans on doing what he can to make that prediction hold true.
“For me,” Tucker said, “as long as I’m able to go out there and play, I’m going to go out there, play, do what I can and do it the best I can. I don’t like getting out of games or missing games or anything. I’m going to try to do everything I can to get out there and continue to play every game.”
That has been a part of what has made Tucker so valuable to this Cubs offense.
Tucker has played in all 59 of Chicago’s games, serving as a catalyst in the second slot of Counsell’s lineup. The right fielder has hit .284/.394/.524 with 12 home runs, 10 doubles, four triples and 39 RBIs. Tucker has more walks (40) than strikeouts (32), and has stolen 16 bases with 44 runs scored. He is currently tied for 11th in fWAR (2.5) among qualified Major League hitters.
Beyond what can be seen in a stat line, Tucker has also impacted the other hitters around him with the Cubs. Seiya Suzuki is thriving in the No. 3 spot behind him, and the lineup has just been deeper from top to bottom with Tucker’s blend of power and patience leading the charge.
So, when Tucker left the field in the fifth inning, it just issued a reminder of how crucial he is to the National League Central-leading Cubs. And when the North Siders held the line and notched another series victory, it was a reminder of how this Cubs squad has a repeated pattern of resilience.
“He’s a great player. You need him out there,” said Taillon, who allowed two runs in his 6 1/3 innings in the win. “But we do have a long lineup. We have guys that can fill in, if needed. … We have such a professional group and we have guys that have been around so it’s like, ‘No panic. Keep your head down and do your job.’
“If we need to weather a storm or anything, we can with what we’ve got. But he’s also very important.”
Tucker was hit on the right foot by a pitch from Reds starter Nick Martinez in the first inning, when the right fielder then attempted to swipe second. When Tucker was thrown out -- taking a helmet to the nose and jamming his finger in the process -- it marked his first caught-stealing since Sept. 11, 2023, ending a 29-for-29 streak.
Even with his finger feeling uncomfortable, Tucker stayed in and sent a Martinez offering into the ivy-covered wall in right for a ground-rule double in the third. Pete Crow-Armstrong brought Tucker in with an RBI single to spark a four-run outburst, which included a run-scoring double by Dansby Swanson and a wind-defying, two-run homer from Michael Busch.
Busch drove in another run with a single in the fifth, and Nico Hoerner delivered two more with a bases-loaded single up the right-field line in the seventh.
“Just a bunch of different guys,” Counsell said of the offensive production. “Different guys every day. That’s how you’re consistent offensively.”
Having a star like Tucker planted in the heart of the order certainly helps.
Tucker stayed in the game for one more at-bat, but when the discomfort persisted he said he agreed to take the “precautionary route” by exiting the game.
“You get beat up playing sports,” Tucker said. “It’s just part of it. Hopefully, I can get back in there for the next game.”