Cubs Hit Kyle Tucker Reset Button And Win 6 Of 8 Games

GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

What’s better than a W flag? Two W flags!

It was a crazy week for Chicago sports, but we can confidently say that Kyle Tucker is back. He’s Kyle Tucker again! And on the heels of a couple contract extensions in town…I still hope he signs the next one!

CHICAGO CUBS

L - BREWERS 7 CUBS 0

A SLOPPY MESS

• Cade Horton left the game in the 3rd inning due to a blister

• Luke Little threw 9 straight balls, Gavin Hollowell threw 12 straight balls, and the Cubs were sloppy in the field

• Only 2 hits for the sleepwalking Cubs

W - CUBS 6 BREWERS 4 (DOUBLEHEADER GM 1)

OWEN CAISSIE’S DAY OUT

• Caissie provided a desperately needed spark with his 1st career HR and a clutch 2-R single in the 1st

• Willi Castro hit his first HR as a Cub!

• Cubs bullpen combined for 3.2 scoreless innings and 6 Ks

W - CUBS 4 BREWERS 1 (DOUBLEHEADER GM 2)

HUSTLIN’ FOR A SWEEP 🧹

• Baserunning juice! Matt Shaw tripled and scored on a grounder to 1st, Caissie sprinted from 1st to home on a double

• Jameson Taillon returned from injury and overcame a 30-pitch 1st inning to deliver a great performance (6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K)

W - CUBS 4 BREWERS 3

MATT SHAW, ELECTRIC

• Shaw hit a HR, made a great barehanded play at third, and drew a walk after an 11-pitch battle with Jacob Misiorowski to set up a Michael Busch 3-R double

• Colin Rea battled command issues (5 BB) but ended up earning the victory against his former team

L - BREWERS 4 CUBS 1

WALKED AWAY FROM THE FINALE

• Cubs hitters walked 8 times but couldn’t come up with a clutch hit (5 hits, 0-for-8 with RISP)

• Shota Imanaga was dealing again (7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)

W - CUBS 3 ANGELS 2

THE STARS ARE BACK!

• Pete Crow-Armstrong hit his first HR since July 23 to break a 2-2 tie in the 9th, and Kyle Tucker hit his first HR since July 19!

• Javier Assad rolled through 6 innings (2 H, 1 ER in 72 pitches), and Shaw made 3 slick plays at third!

W - CUBS 12 ANGELS 1

THE KING TUCK SHOW

• Tucker hit 2 HRs as the Cubs scored in double digits for the first time since July 30th and only the second time since the All-Star Break

• Horton was MASTERFUL (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K in 74 pitches) and struck out Mike Trout 3 times!

• Reese McGuire hit his first career grand slam!

W - CUBS 4 ANGELS 3

KYLE HENDRICKS CARRIES THE BROOM

• Cubs legend Kyle Hendricks faced the Cubs for the first time in his career and was tagged for 4 ER in 4.1 IP as they completed the sweep

• Taillon (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) was removed after 5 innings due to groin tightness

STAR OF THE WEEK ⭐ Daniel Palencia

4.0 IP, 4 saves, 8 K 🔥

PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Matt Shaw barehand & Michael Busch pick

Kyle Tucker had struggled so much in July/August that Craig Counsell gave him Tuesday and Wednesday off. Everyone was tired of him rolling over grounders to the right side of the infield. It turns out he had a hairline fracture in his hand from when he slid into 2nd base on June 1st. He played great in June, so there must have been a gradual swing change…he had a huge weekend, so it seems like he’s back!

Tucker and PCA are the first pair of Cubs teammates to have 20 HR and 20 SB in the same season!

Cade Horton has allowed the fewest runs (2) in a 7-start span in Cubs HISTORY

Reinstated Jameson Taillon from the 15-day IL, placed Ryan Brasier on the 15-day IL with a left groin strain

DIVISION RACE: 5.0 GB of the Brewers

SCHEDULE 📅 T/W//TH/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

PRESEASON: BEARS 29 CHIEFS 27

You. Cannot. Beat. The. Preseason. Bears.

What a comeback! The Bears looked awful against the Chiefs’ starters and went down 20-3 in the blink of an eye. A nice touchdown drive ending in a Rome Odunze catch closed out the half on a high note, and then Tyson Bagent put the team on his back.

They finished the preseason 2-0-1! Still haven’t lost a preseason game since August 26, 2023.

• The first team offense was a mess with false starts and sloppy play, but Caleb Williams finished with a solid stat line (11/15, 113 yards, 1 TD).

• The first team defense was somehow even worse, as Patrick Mahomes walked his team down the field over and over. The Chiefs’ 1st half drives went TD, FG, TD, FG. There was absolutely no pressure on Mahomes, receivers were wide open, and tackle attempts were weak.

• Bagent (20/28, 212 yards, 3 TD) led a game-winning 87-yard TD drive with only 1:26 left in the game. His TD pass was right on point to Jahdae Walker!

• Nahshon Wright had a brutal showing, Daniel Hardy looked great and had a strip sack, and Cairo Santos unfortunately doinked a field goal attempt

• It’s only preseason, but…it feels like Ben Johnson has brought a serious desire and expectation to win to Chicago.

BONUS PLAY OF THE WEEK 🎥 Tyson Bagent to Jahdae Walker for the win

🚨 Signed QB Tyson Bagent to a 2-year, $10M contract extension 🚨

Continuity in the QB room!

The undrafted backup QB will be sticking around. Bagent has been a phenomenon since signing after the 2023 draft and immediately seeing game action as the primary backup for the injured Justin Fields. He impressed everyone at Halas Hall right after coming out of Division 2 Shepherd University.

Ben Johnson raved about his approach and future as an NFL starter, and Bagent discussed the importance of staying in Chicago and learning from a great staff. They didn’t want him to get away too soon!

I’m sure we’ll see a bunch more hairstyles, find out about impossible new workouts, and I hope we’re done with arm wrestling references. Bagent’s confidence is always sky-high, and I’m glad the Bears will finally have a QB room stick together for a while.

Watch Bagent share how much this life-changing money means to him and his family:

CB Terell Smith is out for the season with a torn patellar tendon. Prayers for a full recovery 🙏 It seemed like Nahshon Wright and Tyrique Stevenson were battling it out for the #2 outside corner position opposite of Jaylon Johnson, but Smith was going to be an impactful backup. He played well when given opportunities in his first two seasons.

Signed RB Royce Freeman, placed RB Deion Hankins on IR, waived 6 players as roster cuts began

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

🚨 Signed Frank Nazar to a 7-year contract extension ($6.59M cap hit) 🚨

One of their franchise cornerstones is locked up!

Nazar now has the longest-term contract on the team as he signs an extension that will begin in the 2026-2027 season. This is the largest value deal for a player with as little NHL experience as him (56 games), but it’s an obvious move for the Blackhawks.

I’ve written plenty about my love for Nazar. His game took off down the stretch last season, and he was clearly the best player on the ice most nights. He’s the future captain, their top-line center (interchangeably with Bedard’s line), and a complete two-way player. Oh, and he’s only 21 years old with a TON of development ahead of him.

It’s great the Hawks got this deal done early as they continue to solidify their core. Their salary cap is still in great shape, and Nazar will definitely outperform that cap hit.

Nazar said this about signing his extension: “To look at it in the long run and see that I could be in Chicago for seven years, playing with the team of my dreams, in the city that I want to be at, and a crew I want to be with...it was an easy decision at the end.” 🥹

Nazar and Alex Vlasic will attend the USA Men's Olympic Orientation Camp 👏

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

Derrick Rose’s jersey retirement night is officially scheduled!

Promoted Austin Dufault to Director of Player Development (Peter Patton’s former role) and Isiah Price to Coordinator of Player Development

Reportedly made a multi-year contract offer to Josh Giddey in the $20M/year range

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Carson Kelly

Kelly has been great for the Cubs’ pitching staff this season, and he was an important voice for Daniel Palencia on Wednesday night.

Palencia had loaded the bases against the Brewers and allowed them to get within 1 run. The Cubs surrounded him for a mound visit, and Kelly reminded him that he was “built for this moment.” That’s huge for a young pitcher’s confidence, and he earned the save!

MILD TAKE

The Cubs pitching staff is defying all odds.

A massive first half for Cubs hitters made it clear what the strength of the 2025 team was: offense. Plate discipline, home runs, clutch hitting, you name it. With a lot of uncertainty on the pitching staff, a star-studded, deep lineup would be the catalyst behind any meaningful postseason run.

Thanks to their second half slump, it felt like the light went out for the entire team. How could they survive without their potent offense?

In the month of August, Cubs pitchers are FIRST in MLB with a 2.79 ERA.

1st in WHIP (1.00), 2nd in BAA (.203), T/1st in saves (10), 3rd in BB (55)

They gave up over 5 runs just ONCE this month.

Their trade deadline acquisitions were underwhelming. Taylor Rogers has actually performed well with the Cubs (1 ER in 6.1 IP), but Andrew Kittredge has been a stressful watch (5.40 ERA). They were the only additions to a bullpen that was slowly falling apart. Eli Morgan, Julian Merryweather, Ryan Pressly, and Nate Pearson were supposed to play significant roles in the pen, but they still found enough arms. It’s unbelievable.

The other miss at the deadline was starting pitching. The big fish swam away, and Mike Soroka only threw 2 innings as a Cub before getting hurt. After losing Justin Steele for the season, Imanaga and Taillon for significant time, and with Ben Brown struggling, the rotation appeared to be close to sinking. Instead, they have carried the team and been stellar in August as the offense tries to figure it out.

Craig Counsell wanted a pitching staff he could use to “solve for outs”, and he’s making it happen. Even if it doesn’t make any sense.

HITTING THE LINKS

Tommy Birch - Cascade native Colin Rea thought about retiring twice. Now he's a big part of Cubs success. (Des Moines Register)

Kevin Fishbain - What makes Bears coach Ben Johnson’s attention to detail different (The Athletic)

Sahadev Sharma - How Owen Caissie met the Cubs’ challenge and improved upon his few remaining flaws (The Athletic)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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Thanks for reading! Enjoy your extra time without captivating preseason football on your TV!