Inside The Cubs

Chicago Cubs Outfielder Ends Home Run Drought In Epic Fashion

Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman finally snapped out of his power drought.
Apr 23, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman (40) rounds the bases.
Apr 23, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman (40) rounds the bases. | Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

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On Sept. 27, 2023, Chicago Cubs outfielder Mike Tauchman launched a solo homer in a 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Nearly seven months would pass before his next homer in an MLB game.

After 21 games without a long ball dating back to last year, Tauchman broke out of his power funk in a big way on Tuesday. The 33-year-old veteran smashed not one, but two opposite-field homers against the skidding Houston Astros, propelling the Cubs to a 7-2 victory at Wrigley Field.

Tauchman had been heating up recently, so it was only a matter of time before he put one in the seats. He was 7-for-17 with three doubles over his previous five games, so he was clearly seeing the ball well and hitting it hard.

That culminated in his first two home runs of the season on Tuesday.

Tauchman's first bomb came in his first at-bat against Astros starter J.P. France in the bottom of the first. It was Chicago's second homer of the inning (Cody Bellinger had the other), and Tauchman's three-run shot extended the Cubs' early lead to 5-0.

France didn't allow any additional runs after that, but the damage was done. After walking in the third inning and striking out in the sixth, Tauchman homered again to lead off the bottom of the eighth, making the game 7-2.

It was Tauchman's second career multi-homer game and first since Aug. 5, 2019, when he was with the New York Yankees.

With 27 home runs in 384 career games, Tauchman isn't a big power hitter. On Tuesday, however, he proved he still has some pop in his bat.


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Tyler Maher
TYLER MAHER

Tyler grew up in Massachusetts and is a huge Boston sports fan, especially the Red Sox. He went to Tufts University and played club baseball for the Jumbos. Since graduating, he has worked for MLB.com, The Game Day, FanDuel and Forbes. When he's not writing about baseball, he enjoys running, traveling, and playing fetch with his golden retriever.