Faithful, Too: “Game 25 Win and RE-SIGN KYLE TUCKER”

After finishing off Sunday’s The Last of Us (knew it was coming, still pretty effective), Kait and I watched the Cubs host their third home game of the season against the Dodgers for the first time at Wrigley (remember those two “home” games in Japan?). The violence of the Last of Us finale behind us, it was time to see what the Cubbies were up to in what ended up being the top of the 2nd.

It was already 5-3 Cubs. I knew it would be another wild night in Chicago.

My streak of not looking at PCA when he bats was off to another hot start Tuesday night. I had missed his RBI-double in the 1st (something messed up probably happening in Last of Us at the time), but by the time he came up again in the bottom of the 3rd, I was looking up at the ceiling and allowing Kait and Alex Cohen (Boog’s back-up on Marquee) to let me know what happened. A single! Sweet! Then in the bottom of the 5th, a two-run, no-doubter to right! Incredible! I’ll never see just how good he is live, but it is what it is. Sure he struck out looking without me looking in the bottom of the 7th, but he nearly hit a game-tying home run in the bottom of the 9th before that other thing happened. But more on that later.

As the game progressed and the Cubs kept building their lead, I assured my loved one that these runs would not hold, and Good Lord did they not. The Dodgers stormed back in the top of the 7th, scoring five runs off by way of walks, a single, a sac fly, and doubles to take a 10-5 lead. Cubs reliever Brad Keller (“He’s good,” I infamously said before he began his hellish inning) could have avoided a lot of this damage had temporary third baseman Gage Workman not committed his second error of the night, this time with the bases loaded. He was clearly thinking about throwing it home or stepping on third before securing the ball in his glove on the bouncer, blowing the game wide open. His miscue in the 1st had opened the floodgates there. Not too long ago in San Diego, he dropped a pop fly that led to a Machado homer. I’ve seen enough! Get him outta here!*

After a disappointing bottom of the 7th that saw Nico stranded on third, I decided it was time to unload and load the dishwasher for the top of the 8th. There was a lot from Easter that needed to find their respective places in their respective drawers and cabinets, so it took some time. According to the box score, Cubs reliever Gavin Hollowell, making his season debut, struck out two in the top of the inning (good sign). I proceeded to miss most of the bottom half of the inning, but walked to the living room upon hearing a crowd-going-wild and Kait saying, “Babe…” It was Kyle Tucker. King Tuck. Tuck Temporary. My liege hit his 7th homer of the season; a two-run dinger to cut the lead to one. Tuck’s stats are sickening in a good way so far this 2025 season. “How…good…is he?” .320 BA/.420 OBP, 7 homers, 25 RBI’s. Only on pace for a 46 homer, 162 RBI season. Extend this man! Extend him!

So Hollowell does his job again in the top of the 9th and looks ready for a spot in the Cubs bullpen moving forward.** The Cubs are down to their final out, their final strike, and Miguel Amaya hits one deep…is it deep enough…it is! A home run that landed in the outfield basket to tie the game in the 9th (Fun fact: the only ballpark in which that ball would have been hit far enough to be a home run is Wrigley Field)! Former Dodger Justin Turner couldn’t take revenge against his former team at the plate, but made a great play at first on a sharply-hit ball that kept the good team momentum going in the top half of the 10th. The Dodgers stranded their fella at third, and it was time for the Cubs to bat.

And time for the Dodgers to lose. Reliever Noah Davis, in his first game for the Dodgers, in his first game of the season, in his first pitch of the season, gave up a hit to right from Happ. Vidal Bruján scored from second. I stood up to celebrate upon contact. Cubs win! Cubs win!

Can they beat the Dodgers tonight to somehow take 4 of 7 from them this season after the two disastrous Japan games? Sure. Why not? Nothing this team does surprises me anymore. Let’s…go…Cubs!

* The Cubs agreed. As I wrote this entry, the team designated Workman for assignment. Here’s what that means courtesy of MLB.com, and why he likely won’t be wearing a Cubs uniform again: “When a player's c0ntract is designated for assignment -- often abbreviated "DFA" -- that player is immediately removed from his club's 40-man roster. Within seven days of the transacti0n (had been 10 days under the 2012-16 Collective Bargaining Agr3ement), the player can either be traded or placed on outright or unconditional release waivers. If the player is claimed off waivers by another club, he is immediately added to that team's 40-man roster, at which point he can be optioned to the Minor Leagues (if he has Minor League options remaining) or assigned to his new team's 26-man roster. If the player clears outright waivers, he may be assigned outright to the Minor Leagues. However, players with more than five years of Major League service time can reject an assignment to the Minor Leagues, and players with more than three years of Major League service time, or who have been previously outrighted, may reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency in lieu of the assignment. If the player clears unconditional release waivers, he is unconditionally released.”

** The Cubs disagreed. As I wrote this entry, the team sent him down to Majors to give newly signed Drew Pomeranz a shot. A good pitcher in his time, but hasn’t pitched in four seasons. Huh? Anyway, what do I know?