CHICAGO — Cubs manager Craig Counsell can pinpoint the defining moment in Kyle Tucker‘s offensive struggles.

It was Sunday afternoon’s game at Wrigley Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates — a game the Cubs went on to win 4-3.

Tucker was up second in the bottom of the first inning and laid off three straight pitches to run a 3-0 count. He took a strike from Pirates starter Carmen Mlodzinski to make it 3-1.

At that point, Tucker was looking for a fastball in a specific spot — and uncorked a swing when he got exactly what he was hoping for.

Only instead of doing damage with an extra-base hit — or even a hard line drive — Tucker rolled it over and grounded out to first base. The ball came off his bat at 87.2 mph, but he beat it right into the ground and right at Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz for an easy out (catch the entire at-bat in the video above).

“Kyle’s still doing a pretty good job of swinging at the right pitches and getting himself to the places he wants,” Counsell said. “I thought his first at-bat Sunday was the defining thing of, like, what he’s feeling. He got himself to 3-1 … and then got a fastball where he wanted it and hit a ground ball.

“And so I think as the player — just trying to put the player hat on a little bit — is that you’re like, ‘I don’t know why that keeps happening. I did exactly what I wanted to do for four pitches. Did my job really well and got myself a pitch to hit, and I got the same result.’ Mechanically, what he wants to feel, it’s not happening when he gets in the box.

“So there’s a separation from what he wants and what’s happening –- what he thinks he feels, and what’s happening. And you just try to just keep working on that. It’s a little thing that puts it back in place. It’s probably a simple thing that puts it back in place. It’s a swing. Doesn’t have to be like a successful swing, even. It could be a foul ball that puts it back in place.”

It was after that game Sunday that Counsell pulled Tucker aside for a conversation about how to proceed over the next few days.

After going 0-for-4 in Monday’s series opener with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs will now give Tucker some time off to try to reset. Counsell kept the star right fielder out of the lineup for Game 2 of Monday’s doubleheader, which was then rained out and made up Tuesday afternoon.

If injuries or other situations pop up, the Cubs will absolutely call on Tucker, who said he is healthy and able to play.

However, one of the options on the table is giving Tucker several days off to mentally reset and work on his mechanics in the batting cage.

“The question we’re asking ourselves now is: Does some time off kind of get him away from the thoughts that he’s been having and maybe create some new thoughts?” Counsell said.

Tucker is mired in the worst slump of his career. Since July 1, he is hitting .189 with a .235 slugging percentage and .560 OPS over 38 games.

Per SportRadar, the only time he has posted a lower batting average during a 38-game stretch in his career spanned multiple seasons — from Sept. 23, 2020, through May 9, 2021, when he hit .187 in 38 games. But even during that stretch with the Houston Astros, Tucker was still hitting the ball with authority — smacking six homers, four doubles and one triple.

Since July 1, he has only one homer and three doubles.

This is a player who was slashing .291/.395/.537 (.931 OPS) entering July.

“Production-wise, not great,” Tucker said. “I’m just here trying to help the team win. I haven’t really done a great job of that lately, so that part of it sucks.

“I’m still rooting for everyone around here and hopefully everyone has success throughout the rest of the year. I’m just trying to help us win games.”

Those struggles have led to visible frustration from Tucker, who is normally so even-keeled.

Fans booed him after a groundout in Monday afternoon’s game and Tucker has been seen throwing his helmet in the dugout or smashing it on the ground in recent games. Tucker has also come under some criticism from the fanbase for not hustling out groundballs recently.

“I mean, it’s kind of exhausting – I don’t even know how many times I’ve rolled over to first or second,” Tucker said Tuesday morning. “But regardless, you still gotta run down the line — whether you’re out by 50 feet or not. But it’s just a little tough right now.”

Counsell was asked about Tucker’s hustle before Tuesday’s game and indicated it was another reason why he felt now is a time to give the star a break.

“I think there are balls that you are out on, that that full 90-feet effort doesn’t really get you anything,” Counsell said. “But I also think that Kyle’s in a situation where his struggles at the plate are affecting him kind of in other places. And it’s things like that that give you clues to that, right?”

Tucker has certainly heard the boos from the Wrigley faithful.

“It’s fine,” Tucker said. “I still gotta do my job regardless of cheers or boos or whatever. But obviously I gotta do a better job of that.”

Tucker said he cannot point to one thing that has led to this slump and as a result, does not have the answers to find solutions right now.

But he insisted it’s not an injury plaguing him.

“I’m fine,” he said. “I’ve played, for the most part, every game this year. I’m fine going out there.”

The Cubs don’t have solutions for Tucker right now, either.

If they did, they would have deployed them already.

But a mental reset can sometimes be what a player needs to right the ship, and the Cubs certainly hope that is the case here.