After performing at an MVP pace for the first two months of the season, Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker cooled off after suffering a right ring finger injury.
The Cubs hope to get him back on track for the stretch run as they try to catch the surging Milwaukee Brewers. Manager Craig Counsell gave Tucker an extra day of rest ahead of the Cubs’ three-game weekend set against the host Cardinals.
Tucker, who had a seat Wednesday leading into Thursday’s day off, should return to the lineup Friday for the series opener.
“Kyle’s going through a baseball season,” Counsell said. “He spoiled us in the month of April. His numbers are pretty close to his career numbers — pretty much on his career numbers right now.”
Tucker is batting .271 with 18 homers, 61 RBIs, a .384 on-base percentage and an .859 OPS through 409 at-bats.
According to MLB.com, Tucker owned a .283/.391/.520 slash line with 12 homers, nine doubles, 39 RBIs, 40 walks and 32 strikeouts in 58 games through May 31 — the day before he injured his finger against the Cincinnati Reds.
During his ensuing 53 games, he has hit .258/.377/.419 with six homers, 12 doubles, 22 RBIs, 39 strikeouts and 35 walks.
But Tucker dismissed the injury as an issue.
“It’s fine,” Tucker told reporters. “I’ve got to go out and do my job regardless of how I feel.”
Tucker believes his hitting approach has been good, but his execution has been off.
“I still feel like I’m still swinging at pitches I want to and taking ones I don’t want to swing at,” he said. “It’s just the pitches over the plate, I just end up fouling off or I might swing and miss at times. Then I just end up getting in worse counts and it kind of just doesn’t work out from there.”
The Cubs will start All-Star left-hander Matthew Boyd (11-4, 2.34 ERA) in the series opener. Boyd won his first two starts against the Cardinals this season while throwing 11 shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and just one walk.
He is 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA in five career starts against St. Louis.
The Cardinals will start rookie Michael McGreevy (3-2, 5.08 ERA), who allowed 11 runs on 16 hits in 10 2/3 innings in his last two starts since joining the rotation on a full-time basis. He faced the Cubs for the first time on June 24 and allowed five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings — a game the Cards held on to win 8-7.
Since trading veteran relievers Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz ahead of the trade deadline, the Cardinals have had to reconfigure their bullpen with hurlers assuming more important roles.
JoJo Romero has stepped into the closing role for the first time in his career. Rookies Matt Svanson, Andre Granillo and Gordon Graceffo are getting heavy usage in the middle innings while Riley O’Brien has moved into the set-up role.
A four-year pro, O’Brien earned his first victory and his first save in the big leagues when the Cardinals won two of three games against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
“Hopefully it does a lot for his confidence,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Especially able to do it (in Dodger Stadium). You want to test it out somewhere, this is not a bad spot to do it.”
–Field Level Media
