Kyle Tucker of the Cubs hit two home runs in a single game, driving in five runs, and teamed up with Cade Horton to lead the team to a victory over the Angels.

Since July, Kyle Tucker had been in a slump, but today (24th) he produced his first two-homer game as a Cub. With five RBIs to his name and rookie starter Cade Horton throwing six shutout innings, they combined to lead the Cubs to a 12-1 rout of the Angels.

Horton, who had allowed only 2 runs in 31 innings over his first six starts, continued his hot streak this past month by pitching six strong innings, giving up just three hits with no runs and striking out seven, completely shutting down the Angels’ offense. Meanwhile, the Cubs' hitters aggressively attacked the Angels' pitchers.

In the third inning, Tucker opened the scoring with a two-run homer for the Cubs. In the fourth, catcher Reese McGuire blasted a grand slam, instantly changing the score to 6-0. Tucker then hit a three-run homer in the sixth, sparking a four-run rally. The Cubs added two more runs in the seventh to bring the score to 12-0. The Angels finally broke the shutout in the seventh with a solo homer by Jo Adell.

This marked Tucker’s first multi-homer game since joining the Cubs, and his five RBIs were also a season-high for him in a single game. Besides Tucker, McGuire also contributed five RBIs, making them the two main contributors to the offense.

However, even including today’s three hits, Tucker’s batting average in August stands at just .179. Coupled with his performance over the past month since July, his average is only around .200. The team's recent offensive struggles have been a key reason why they were overtaken by the Brewers.

Horton has pitched 37 innings in his last seven games, allowing only 2 runs and striking out 34 batters, with an ERA as low as 0.49 during this stretch. He has earned five wins in those seven starts and currently holds an 8-4 record with a 2.88 ERA, showing excellent form.

With the Cubs winning and the Brewers losing, Chicago trails Milwaukee by six games in the NL Central but holds the top spot in the National League Wild Card standings. They lead the Dodgers, who were pushed to second in the Wild Card, by two games and the Mets by five and a half games, making their chances of reaching the playoffs quite high.