Cubs' Rizzo talks his way into Wednesday's lineup
MILWAUKEE - There was no keeping Anthony Rizzo out of the lineup Wednesday night.
The Chicago Cubs first baseman was back in there for the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers even though manager Joe Maddon was going to give him the night off.
But Rizzo hit 2 homers Tuesday night, and with a little lobbying, he was back in there Wednesday.
"He didn't bring any wine," Maddon said. "There was no money exchanged. I was not going to play Riz, but watching him yesterday (Tuesday), he didn't look tired yesterday, so I put him back in there. That's the exact reason. I thought the day before, his bat looked a little bit off."
Rizzo joked that "if you guys (media) really knew how it worked, you wouldn't ask."
Third baseman Kris Bryant got Tuesday off, and he was back in the lineup Wednesday.
"I think Joe is going to do a good job of funneling us in and out," Rizzo said. "One day off can give you two months of energy. So it's just that one mental day. Kris got it yesterday, so he'll probably hit 2 home runs today."
The Cubs can afford to rest people because of their large lead in the National League Central. Last year, they were battling for the top wild-card spot.
"It's different, but at the end of the day, all these numbers go on the back of your baseball card," Rizzo said. "You've got to go out and produce You want to win games as a unit, but you've got to go out there and play baseball. You can't just cash it in."
Starting-rotation tweak:
After an off-day Thursday, the Cubs will open a three-game interleague series Friday against former NL Central rivals, the Houston Astros, at Minute Maid Park.
Lefty Jon Lester will open that series for the Cubs. Right-hander Jake Arrieta will get an extra day off, going Sunday night, with righty John Lackey working Saturday afternoon's game.
"Just to break up Lester and Jake so we could do other things," Joe Maddon said. "It was strategical because we could."
Designated doings:
The Cubs will be facing three right-handers in Houston: Joe Musgrove, Collin McHugh and Mike Fiers.
The added dynamic will be that the designated hitter will be in play in the American League park. There are a number of ways the Cubs could go to get another left-handed bat in the lineup. That includes using Anthony Rizzo as DH one time. Chris Coghlan is a left-handed option. With the Cubs having four catchers on the roster, Miguel Montero also could DH.
"Just try to look at our strengths versus them," Joe Maddon said." I haven't broken it down yet."