CHICAGO (AP) - Jason Heyward’s return to the Chicago Cubs lineup will have to wait another day.
The game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday afternoon was rained out. It will be made up at 1:20 p.m. CT on July 6.
“Nothing you can do about (the weather), that’s why we’re here to embrace the suck,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon, referencing the team’s new T-shirt slogan.
Heyward was on Maddon’s lineup card after a stint on the disabled list since May 8 because of a sore knuckle on his right hand.
Heyward is hitting .253 with three homers and 17 RBIs. He was scheduled to bat sixth and play right field on Saturday.
Chase Anderson (2-0, 3.43 ERA) and Jake Arrieta (4-3, 5.44) will pitch on Sunday.
Rookie Ian Happ was to return to Saturday’s lineup in center field, batting fifth.
“Like a lot of our guys, he’s not overwhelmed and that’s probably the most impressive part of it, he’s acting like he wants to stay and that he belongs here,” Maddon said.
Happ, the No. 9 overall draft pick from 2015, was 7 for 21 for a .333 batting average with two homers and four RBIs in six games. He was called up from Triple-A Iowa on May 13.
“I’m starting to get a feel for the first time playing in the outfield with these guys consistently,” said Happ, who played mostly second base in spring training. “(Wrigley Field) is what I heard about. One day you get the wind blowing out, and you can flick home runs. The next day, you hit the ball as hard as you can and it’s caught before the track. It’s Wrigley, it evens out, and it makes the game interesting, for sure.”
Maddon also had Kyle Schwarber moved down to second in the lineup after batting leadoff all season. Second baseman Ben Zobrist replaced him at the top.
Schwarber is batting .182 with a .305 on-base percentage with six home runs and 17 RBIs.
“We talked about Kyle hitting a lot of balls into that shift,” Maddon said. “If (Zobrist) can get on base a little more often, it might move that second baseman out of that spot.”
The manager would not commit to the change for Sunday.
The Brewers again had Eric Sogard hitting leadoff instead of the slumping Jonathan Villar, who is 1 for 16 on the first five games of the road trop. Sogard is hitting .476 in seven games with the Brewers, going 10 for 21 with two home runs and seven RBIs.
“Really this is not about Villar as it is about Eric Sogard right now,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I anticipate eventually Jonny is going to be back in the leadoff spot because that is where we need him. Hopefully, he will get it going and make it back there. That’s where we’re at our best, I think, with him hitting out of that spot.”
Villar, who is hitting 1 for 16 on the road trip, was set to bat sixth and play second base.
BOBBLEHEAD FAKE
Hundreds of fans were lined up outside Wrigley Field before Saturday’s rainout announcement with hopes of getting a bobblehead.
The first 10,000 fans were to receive a Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo bobblehead celebrating the final out of the 2016 World Series.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: Counsell said OF Ryan Braun would run on the treadmill Saturday to test his strained left calf, which has had him on the disabled list since May 11. Counsell said Braun might return to the lineup on Sunday, with a return Thursday at the latest. The six-time All-Star and 2011 NL MVP has been taking batting practice and throwing. He is batting .287 with seven homers and 18 RBIs.
Cubs: Heyward’s return will necessitate a roster move, but none were made on Saturday. Infielder Tommy La Stella and right-hander Pierce Johnson, who made his major league debut on Friday, were not with the team in the clubhouse on Saturday. Pitcher Dylan Floro, who is on the Triple-A Iowa roster, was there.
UP NEXT
Maddon said the Cubs will move the starters back a day with RHP John Lackey pitching Monday night in the opener of a four-game home series against San Francisco. RHP Kyle Hendricks will pitch Tuesday, LHP Jon Lester on Wednesday, and RHP Eddie Butler on Thursday.
RHP Jimmy Nelson is scheduled to start Tuesday’s home series opener for Milwaukee against Toronto.
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