Sveum Shuffles Cubs Line Up For Reds Series Finale

After the extra inning affair on Tuesday night, manager Dale Sveum has shuffled up his lineup for the quick turnaround, with today’s game starting at 11:35 am CST. It makes sense to see Dioner Navarro handle the catching duties, as back up catcher usually get their starts when a day game follows a night game. The switching hitting back stop also provides the line up another left handed bat against the right handed Matt Latos of the Reds. David DeJesus and Nate Schierholtz return to the lineup after sitting last night against the left handed Reds starter.

Apr 21, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum watches from the dugout during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Cody Ransom appears to have earned another start at third base after a solid Cubs debut yesterday that included a solo homer in his first at bat. Today Ransom has been bumped down to the eighth spot in the order. Despite the comments to demote Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo if their lackluster play continues, those two remain in the lineup, with the Cubs short stop sliding down to the three spot in the order. In a bit of a surprise, left fielder Alfonso Soriano and extra inning hero Darwin Barney are both being given a rest in favor of Julio Borbon and Luis Valbuena. Soriano turned back the clock last night with back to back stolen bases in one inning. The slugger may be getting the veteran treatment from manager Sveum with the quick turnaround, but it would have been nice to see Soriano’s productive bat in the lineup. There has been zero trade rumors regarding Soriano of late, so we may need to keep those hopes down for now. The rest for the younger Barney is an interesting move and may have to do with just giving his injured knee a breather after a weeks worth of games.

For our visual learners, the lineup is as follows:

1. DeJesus, CF
2. Borbon, LF
3. Castro, SS
4. Rizzo, 1B
5. Schierholtz, RF
6. Navarro, C
7. Valbuena, 2B
8. Ransom, 3B
9. Samardzija, P