Palatine native Mike Tauchman's hitting helps spark Cubs' recent surge
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Chicago Cubs are making a charge in the NL Central. The problem is they aren't the only team in the division playing better baseball.
The Cubs have won eight of the team's last 10 games. That's good enough to get within half a game of a Pittsburgh Pirates that was leading the division a week ago.
But the Cincinnati Reds haven't lost in over a week. The Reds' nine-game winning streak means the Cubs are still 3.5 games out of first place.
One of the reasons the Cubs are playing so well is Palatine native Mike Tauchman's impact since getting the call-up from AAA Iowa in late May.
Tauchman went 3-5 with 3 RBI and a couple of runs scored in Monday's 8-0 win over the Pirates. The journeyman outfielder has gotten on base in 42% of his plate appearances this season.
CBS 2's Jori Parys caught up with the local boy-turned-Cubs sparkplug.
Parys: "How confident would you say that you are right now both offensively and defensively?"
Tauchman: "You know, I don't really think about it in those terms. I just try to be prepared for the game that day and try to be prepared for the situations that come up and try to keep my focus on the things I can control, which is being ready to hit and swinging at good pitches and being ready to go on defense and trying to stay super engaged."
Parys: "You grew up a Cubs fan in Palatine. If you could go back and tell the high school version of yourself that this is what you'd be doing, what do you think you'd say?"
Tauchman: "I mean, he probably wouldn't believe me, or maybe he would, but the high school version of me was probably kind of an idiot, but that's OK. I was in Venezuela playing winter ball when [the Cubs] won the World Series and I remember that night, right when the last out was made, Facetiming my dad, who had stayed up through the rain delay and watched the game. He was so excited but he was like 'It's 1 in the morning and I don't know what to do.' I know that that was really special for him, being a lifelong Cubs fan. It's been a crazy ride and I'm very grateful for the opportunities that I've had and the experiences that I've had."
Parys: "Do you have a fan section here at Wrigley for the home games?"
Tauchman: "No, not a ton. The first homestand, we had a lot of people come out and I'll get texts saying, 'Hey, we're coming to the game today.' It's been great and the support's been great, but nothing crazy."