Aug 19, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Owen Caissie (19) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the sixth inning of the game one of the doubleheader at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Cubs Bounce Back And Sweep Doubleheader As Caissie Steps Up In Place Of Benched Tucker

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI
By Maddy Dickens | Last updated Aug 19, 2025 11:22 PM ET

The Chicago Cubs are in a fairly high stakes battle right now with the Milwaukee Brewers. They are forced to face the No.1 team in baseball amidst quite an offensive rut in a five-game stretch at Wrigley Field. After being blown out in game one, they took back-to-back games to take a 2-1 overall lead.

Day one was suppose to be a double header, but game two was rained out. Maybe that was for the best, so the team could reset after a brutal 7-0 shutout.

Kyle Tucker specifically has found himself in a slump of all slumps. This is arguably the worst stretch of his career and unfortunately for, well everyone, the Cubs offensive struggles are coinciding with his.

The last time the slugger hit a home run was a month ago, which was the last time the Cubs found themselves at the top of the NL Central. Well, the Brewers now have a nine game lead over Chicago.

Three/Fifths Through

David Banks-Imagn Images

The Cubs got the night to step back and catch their breath from the gut punch that the Brewers gave to them in game one. Tucker, however, is going to take a little more time.

Craig Counsell announced that their All-Star is going to be taking a few days off, which is probably long overdue at this point. In his last 30-games he has a slash line of .181/.323./238 with one home run and 21 strikeouts. His confidence is at an all-time low to say the least.

With Tucker on the bench it gave Owen Caissie a chance to step up. Caissie saw his bat make contact in the blow out and record his first major league hit, a single. Now, he was ready. He not only led the Cubs to a bounce-back victory, but had his first career homer and RBI (finished with three).

Matthew Boyd actually didn't look like himself in his start of game two. The four runs that the Brewers scored all came during his time on the mound. The Cubs' bullpen came through to hold the Brewers' scoreless after Boyd finished 5.2 innings on the day. Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar each finished a scoreless inning with no hits and three combined strikeouts.

Owen Caissie drives his first career homer the other way pic.twitter.com/Jiv9wKKTGg
— MLB (@MLB) August 19, 2025

Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon came off of the injured list to get the start for game three. He went six full innings in his return where he had one earned run and four strikeouts. There wasn't much offense from either squad, but Nico Hoerner led the Cubs after going one for three, stealing a base, drawing a walk, and batting a run in.

The Cubs had a massive turnaround after the beating they took in game one. After allowing seven runs in game one, the pitching staff kept the best offense in baseball (arguably) to five total runs in games two and three. Chicago has turned a corner and have now made a series that looked like a blow out into something worth watching.

This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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