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Former SF Giants OF Mike Tauchman robs walk-off home run in Cubs win

Former SF Giants outfielder Mike Tauchman did the incredible again, robbing the St. Louis Cardinals of a game-winning home run in a Cubs win.

Marc Delucchi

Former SF Giants OF Mike Tauchman robs walk-off home run in Cubs win
Former SF Giants OF Mike Tauchman robs walk-off home run in Cubs win /
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Former SF Giants outfielder Mike Tauchman robbed St. Louis Cardinals slugger Alec Burleson of a walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday night. Burleson blasted a fastball from Chicago Cubs closer Adbert Alzolay to center field. With a runner on third base, a home run would have won the game for the Cardinals. Instead, Tauchman leaped over the wall, made the catch, and secured the Cubs' 3-2 victory.

Tauchman is no stranger to robbing walk-off home runs in big rivalry games. During his short tenure with the Giants in 2021, Tauchman robbed then-Dodgers slugger Albert Pujols of a would-be walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning in a tied 5-5 game. Tauchman extended the game, allowing the Giants to win 8-5 in extra innings. The Giants ultimately won the National League West by one game over the Dodgers.

Despite his defensive heroics, Tauchman was eventually designated for assignment by the Giants due to his struggles offensively. He hit just .178/.286/.283 in 175 plate appearances with the team and opted to pursue an opportunity internationally in Korea in the KBO the following season.

Back stateside this year, Tauchman has had a resurgent campaign with the Cubs. The Palatine, Illinois native signed a minor-league contract with Chicago heading into the year but was promoted to the majors early in the season. Since his promotion, Tauchman has posted a .257/.357/.391 triple-slash with nine doubles and five home runs in 53 games.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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