CHICAGO – The environment inside Wrigley Field was already frenzied on Thursday night, but Kyle Tucker ratcheted things up several notches by sending a baseball to the fans partying in the center-field bleachers. His seventh-inning shot eased some of the tension and served notice that the National League Division Series would go on.
Tucker’s blast came as part of a classic offensive showing from the star – two hits and two walks – to help the Cubs cruise to a decisive 6-0 win over the Brewers to force a win-or-go-home Game 5 on Saturday night in Milwaukee. It was also precisely why Chicago brought Tucker into the fold, and why his pending free agency will dominate offseason headlines.
When Tucker is healthy and his swing is in rhythm, he is simply one of the best hitters on the planet.
“Look, it’s important,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s part of why at times this has been a really, really good offense. He’s a big part of it.”
And Tucker will play a big role in whether the Cubs’ season – and perhaps his time wearing their uniform – continues deeper into October.
After a second half marred by health setbacks – including missing three-plus weeks in September due to a left calf strain – Tucker has increasingly looked like himself in the batter’s box. He rejoined the fold for the regular season’s last homestand, and he has remained in the designated hitter’s role, getting his legs back under him and finding his swing again.
Tucker went 1-for-11 in the final series of the season and then had an 0-for-3 showing in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Padres. In the six playoff games that have followed, he has hit .350 (7-for-20) with more walks (five) than strikeouts (two) and a steady uptick in exit velocity.
“It’s hard to play this game when you don’t play for [three weeks],” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “That’s really challenging. Every time I’ve come off even like a 10-day IL, I feel ready, but it’s not that simple. And not only just to come back, but to come back playing baseball at the very highest level against the best pitching of the game.”
Hoerner noted that the average velocity the Cubs have seen this postseason is much higher than in the regular season. In fact, Chicago’s lineup has seen an average fastball velo of 96.1 mph so far, the highest among teams in the postseason. For perspective, the Cubs saw 93.8 mph on average in the regular season. Tucker has faced an average heater velocity of 96.3 mph in these playoffs to date.
In the seventh inning of Game 4, Tucker got a 93.1 mph four-seamer low in the zone from Brewers reliever Robert Gasser and sent it out to center at 107.5 mph off the bat, per Statcast. Tucker’s average exit velocity has been climbing in the playoffs after posting a monthly season low of 85.1 mph in September. He topped 92 mph on average in Games 3-4 against Milwaukee.
“I feel good,” Tucker said after Game 4. “I’m swinging at pitches I want to swing at and laying off some of the other ones. It’s not always going to go your way, but as long as you can go up there and have a chance and put yourself in good spots, you’re at least giving yourself a shot.”
The Cubs swung a blockbuster trade with the Astros in December because they knew that Tucker’s production, plus the potential trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup, could give them a shot at a high-octane offense. That played out exactly as intended through the first few months of the season.
Through the end of June, Tucker was hitting .291 with 39 extra-base hits and a .931 OPS, earning his way into the starting lineup for the NL All-Star team. The Cubs averaged 5.4 runs per game with a .770 team OPS in that span. From July through the end of the season, Tucker slumped (.225 average, 12 extra-base hits, .690 OPS) and missed time, and the lineup lagged (4.4 runs per game, .729 OPS).
In August, it was revealed that Tucker had sustained a hairline fracture in his right hand in June. He had a scorching-hot showing in June (.982 OPS), but he faded offensively in July (.675 OPS) and into August with a surprising spike in ground-ball rate (47.1% in August vs. 30.7% in the first half).
Tucker started to climb out of his offensive hole as the calendar reached September, hitting .400 in an 11-game stretch leading to his early exit on Sept. 2 against Atlanta. He launched a homer in that game, but he then departed due to the left calf injury that persisted and cost him nearly the entire month on the shelf.
Shortly before the playoffs, Tucker got himself to a point where he could return as a DH in time for the Cubs’ October run.
“He’s a pro,” Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said. “You know you’re going to get a good at-bat out of him every time he goes up there. I just think the opportunities he creates just by being in the lineup is big.”
Having Tucker send a baseball into a sea of partying fans in the bleachers is a great sign for the Cubs, too.
“It’s a big deal to see that slug show up,” Hoerner said. “It’s huge.”
