One moment, you could be hitting homers and winning games for your team, and in another moment, you could be injured because a catcher hit you with a ball. Although there was no injury, the $240 million Dodgers outfielder, Kyle Tucker, did get hit in the head after the catcher lost control of his throw.

Kyle Tucker’s return to Wrigley Field delivered everything from a bizarre accident to a home run but ended in disappointment. In a video posted by Jomboy Media on X, Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya accidentally hit Tucker’s helmet while tossing the ball back to pitcher Javier Assad at the top of the fifth inning. 

Tucker came to bat in the top of the fifth inning. Assad threw a 79 mph curveball, which Amaya caught. Then, the catcher made a routine throw back to the pitcher while Tucker stood directly in the throwing lane. That throw shook Tucker’s head, briefly scaring everyone, but things calmed down as he stayed and played the rest of the game.

The Dodgers outfielder also helped ease the tension with his reaction.

Amaya extended his hand to apologize to Tucker, and the latter accepted it, without making anything else of what looked like a genuine mistake.

That strange moment was only one of the talking points of Kyle Tucker from that dramatic night. 

The former Cubs outfielder returned to Chicago knowing the reception would not be warm. Fans booed Tucker throughout the series, especially because he signed with the Dodgers.

Tucker had two hits and a walk in the first game of the series. The Dodgers lost that game 5-10 on the back of a disappointing night from their starting pitcher, Justin Wrobleski, who gave up seven runs on seven hits and couldn’t even complete five innings.

Yesterday, Tucker again answered the boos from his former home crowd with an opposite-field homer on top of the 2nd, giving the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead against the Cubs. The outfielder also had another hit in the 5 inning, the same one he got hit by Amaya.

However, Chicago took control of the game in the bottom of the sixth.

After Tarik Skubal walked Seiya Suzuki, Alex Bregman doubled to center. Some Dodgers fans would have wanted Tucker to make the catch on that, but it wasn’t an easy play. Two batters later, the Cubs led 2-1. With the final score 5-1, the Cubs fans eventually went home smiling after watching their team silence another early Dodgers advantage. 

That defeat left a bigger mark because the Dodgers continue moving in the wrong direction. Los Angeles has now dropped five straight games, wasting another opportunity despite Tarik Skubal making his club debut and pitching well. 

Last week, the Dodgers were poised to be the first team in MLB to reach 70 wins, weeks earlier than they did last year. Now, the Milwaukee Brewers have that achievement; they are currently 70-43 after a 4-2 win over the Pirates. Fortunately for Davo Roberts, his team is still nine games ahead of the Diamondbacks in the NL West, which remains the largest difference between the first two teams in any division in the MLB right now.

Kyle Tucker has yet to justify his contract

The growing concern for Los Angeles extends beyond one defeat because Tucker still has not found consistent form. The Dodgers invested $240 million in him, expecting him to anchor the lineup during decisive moments.

Instead, Tucker entered Tuesday with an average of .243 with a .341 on-base percentage and only 9 home runs. Currently, his OPS+ is around 101, which basically makes him a league-average hitter. The Dodgers outfielder has regressed in a majority of metrics. The extra-base power is missing. He used to crush righties, and even that is missing so far.  

The only thing going for Tucker is that he is part of a 69-win team, in which the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman get more attention than him. Moreover, the Dodgers fans have gotten used to Teoscar Hernandez struggling in the regular season and delivering in the playoffs. And a part of the fanbase is hoping that Tucker will be able to turn it around come the playoffs.