A successful playoff run requires Crow-Armstrong and Tucker to snap out of funks. Friday could've been the start of that.

So you can imagine how happy he was — along with the rest of us — when his first home run since July 1 went into the seats in the first inning at Angel Stadium Friday evening. Pete Crow-Armstrong bookended that homer with one of his own in the ninth inning off Kenley Jansen and the Cubs defeated the Angels 3-2 in the first game of a nine-game road trip.

Saturday went quite well. In the Cubs’ 12-1 win against the Angels, he recorded his first multi-homer game as a Cub and the eighth of his career. “Squared up some balls pretty well today, and one yesterday,” said Tucker, who also hit a double in his 3-for-5 performance Saturday. “So I’m just trying to continue to move it on to tomorrow.”

After being benched against the Brewers, Tucker has rediscovered his ability to hunt certain pitches and launch those balls into the seats.

Kyle Tucker homered twice and drove in five runs as the surging Chicago Cubs routed the Los Angeles Angels 12-1 on Saturday night. Reese McGuire added a grand slam and tied a career high with five RBIs to help the Cubs win for the seventh time in nine games.