Cubs survive without PCA, but lose Tucker
After Pete Crow-Armstrong made two difficult, sliding catches in center field Monday, it was easy to think he's too valuable defensively to remove from the lineup.
But manager Craig Counsell was determined to give PCA a day off and made the move Tuesday against Atlanta.
“If you think like that, then you'd never get Pete a day off,” Counsell said before the game.
The Cubs survived with Kevin Alcantara starting in center field, thanks mostly to a 3-run, opposite field home run by Kyle Tucker in the third inning, which provided most of the offense in a 4-3 win at Wrigley Field.
But the Cubs lost Tucker later in the game with left calf tightness. Willi Castro took over in right field in the top of the seventh inning.
“He's not going to play (Wednesday),” Counsell said. “We've just got to see how he feels on Friday. We'll be cautious, absolutely, here.”
Tucker alerted the Cubs to the issue before the game and tried to take care of it.
“I kind of felt like a little soreness the last couple days or whatever,” Tucker said after the game. “But felt it a decent amount coming into today. I tried to do some treatment stuff, get ahead of it earlier before the game.
“I did as much as I could. Going into the game, it felt all right and then as the game went, it got a little more sore, tight. Eventually, I was just like, 'I think I'd rather not try and test this much further and make it any more than what it really is.''
Tucker has made a nice turnaround since getting two days off to try to work on hitting mechanics at the end of the last homestand. During the past 15 days, he leads the Cubs with a 1.189 OPS. Even finding the seats at Wrigley was an improvement. This was his seventh home run at home this season, compared to 15 on the road.
This turned out to not be a full night off for Crow-Armstrong. Counsell sent him out to center field as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning.
Cubs starter Shota Imanaga sailed through the first 3 innings, then gave up a couple home runs as the Braves closed within 4-3 before Imanaga departed after six.
Unable to tack on any runs, the Cubs needed the bullpen to be perfect. Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar recorded scoreless innings, then Daniel Palencia gave up a pair of singles in the ninth, but ended the game and earned his 22nd save with a fly out to PCA in center.
As much as the Cubs might like to give Crow-Armstrong a couple days off to fix his swing, like they did with Tucker, his rest days may be over.
Fangraphs.com has Crow-Armstrong rated the best defensive outfielder in MLB. StatCast's fielding run value has PCA the second-best overall defensive player, behind Giants catcher Patrick Bailey.
Alcantara scored the Cubs first run of the night. He started the 4-run rally with a line single in the third inning, his first hit at Wrigley Field. After another single by Nico Hoerner, Tucker sent a line drive into the left-field bleachers. The Cubs added another run on an RBI single by Ian Happ to take a 4-0 lead.
“We put 3 runs on the board in one swing,” Counsell said. “That's a big deal, for sure. Big swing obviously on a night where not much else happened offensively.”
Atlanta came back with 2 runs in the top of the fourth and Imanaga said he needs to do a better job staying sharp after a spending a long inning inside the dugout.
Alcantara was flawless in center field, with a couple of fly balls landing in his glove. The 6-foot-6 outfielder, who made his MLB debut last September, hit .266 with 17 home runs and 69 RBI at Triple-A Iowa.