Cubs beat Giants 7-3 amid Castro's benching

What you're watching at Wrigley Field these days is a manager actively and dispassionately managing his baseball team.

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said all the right things Friday about shortstop Starlin Castro while explaining why Castro no longer is guaranteed everyday playing time.

After watching Castro struggle for four-plus months while his team has a real shot at making the postseason, Maddon decided the Cubs no longer could run Castro and his line of .236/.271/.304 out onto the field every day.

Addison Russell was at shortstop Friday as the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 at Wrigley Field to increase their lead in the National League wild-card race to 1½ games over the Giants. And Russell is likely to be there again Saturday.

"Like I told Starlin, it's not a day off," Maddon said of the benching. "I want him to understand that upfront. It's something that's going to be considered daily. I did not give him any promises regarding how he's going to be utilized other than just, 'Stay ready off the bench.' I didn't want to give him any kind of false promises."

Maddon cited the production of rookie Kyle Schwarber as being the driving force behind Castro losing his full-time job, but in the end, it came down to production, or a lack of it.

In other words, if Castro were hitting, he'd not be benched.

"Probably not; that's fair," Maddon said. "I think that's a fair thing. If he's playing his normal offensive game, you probably don't do something like this. But under the circumstances, as of right now - and I really like Starlin a lot; I think his work has been great; he's done some really good things for us, even recently - we're presented with a new set of circumstances based on personnel. None of this is punitive by any means. It's just trying to help us win today's game."

Maddon's move set off a chain reaction of moves that on Friday had Schwarber move from catcher to left field, Chris Coghlan move from left field to second base and Russell go from second base to shortstop - his natural position, by the way.

In Friday's victory, Schwarber hit a first-inning double and a 2-run single in the Cubs' 5-run fifth inning. Over his first 26 major-league games, he has a line of .345/.427/.631 with 6 home runs and 20 RBI.

"It's because of Schwarber," Maddon said of all the machinations. "Schwarber's the guy that really kind of enacted this whole thing with the way that he's hitting right now. We've got to try to figure out a way to keep him in the lineup."

Schwarber seemed flattered by his manager's trust in him.

"It's a nice compliment," the 22-year-old said. "I'm going to do whatever I can to help this team win."

As far as playing left field, Schwarber has not looked at all out of place. He went back and made a nice play on Angel Pagan's flyball to end the top of the third. He then calmly flipped the ball into the bleachers.

"It's fine," he said. "I've played the position before last year and in college and got a couple starts out there this year. I feel comfortable out there."

As for Castro, he's likely to address his situation with the media Saturday, but Maddon said he took the news professionally. The manager has strong backing from team president Theo Epstein.

"That's Joe's job and he does it really well," Epstein said. "Obviously we talked. Just the same way we'll talk to him before we make a personnel move, he usually talks to us before he does something different than what's gone on in the past. It's a great exchange of ideas during a relationship.

"Yeah, it's that time of year, no doubt about it. The position that we're in, the manager has to have the unfettered ability to put the team on the field every single game, every single inning, that he thinks puts the club in the best position to win.

"I don't think (there are) any permanent moves or anything like that, but I think with some of the pieces we have coming back (from the disabled list) and the way Schwarber is swinging the bat, there are going to be a lot of options for him, and he just has to be able to play the matchups, play the hot hand and put the best team on the field."

• Follow Bruce's baseball reports on Twitter at @BruceMiles2112.