Expect Cubs' Rizzo to stay in leadoff spot
Look for Anthony Rizzo in the leadoff spot for the foreseeable future. Cubs manager Joe Maddon says he is not inclined to move Rizzo out of the top spot any time soon.
Rizzo flied out to begin Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres. He had reached safely leading off in each of his first seven games.
According to Elias, Rizzo is the only player in the last 60 years to reach in his first plate appearance in each of his first seven career games batting leadoff. The only other Cubs player since 1946 to reach safely leading off seven straight team games was Richie Ashburn, from June 28-July 3, 1960.
"Honestly, I'm just keeping an open mind, I really am," Maddon said. "Going into it, I did not have a set number of days to do it. Let's just watch it and let it play out. He's obviously started out well in New York, Pittsburgh, followed up on that. I have a very open mind about all of this, to see where it goes eventually. A lot of it is dependent upon other guys surfacing. If there's somebody who all of a sudden gets hot and you think you can do something differently, then I might. But otherwise I'm just going to leave it alone for a bit."
Rizzo was 0-for-4 Wednesday as his career-best hitting streak ended at 14 games.
First-rounder in fold
The Cubs likely will make official Thursday the news they've signed first-round draft pick Brendon Little, a left-handed pitcher out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. The Cubs took Little with the 27th overall pick. Baseball America reports the signing bonus as $2.2 million, slightly below the "slotted" amount for that pick.
On the road again:
After a brief three-game homestand, the Cubs head out for three road series: four games at Miami this weekend followed by four at Washington and three at Cincinnati.
They are 22-16 at home but only 14-19 on the road.
"If you're playing well, it doesn't matter where you're playing," Joe Maddon said. "I've felt that the last couple years. I thought we've actually done pretty well on the road overall. This year, we've not gained our traction yet, but just because we haven't played that consistent baseball anywhere, not even here. Obviously, the last couple days have been better."
This is a stretch of 17 of 20 games away from Wrigley Field for the Cubs. On the last trip, they lost two of three at New York against the Mets before winning two of three at Pittsburgh.
Heyward still out:
Right fielder Jason Heyward did not play for a third straight day as he continues to nurse a scraped-up left hand. Joe Maddon said the Cubs aren't ruling out a stint on the disabled list for Heyward.