Cubs jumble lineup, snap losing streak by beating Cardinals

Kris Bryant rounds the bases after his third-inning home run. | AP

Maybe it was fitting that Dexter Fowler’s return to Wrigley Field came Friday.

Looking to jump-start the offense, Cubs manager Joe Maddon once again jumbled a lineup that has missed Fowler’s steadying presence at the top. Ian Happ became the Cubs’ sixth leadoff man of the season, Ben Zobrist hit fourth behind Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber was bumped to seventh for just the second time in his career.

“I thought Zobrist really is what Rizzo needs behind him, and then Schwarber, with all the different work he’s been doing, I thought it would be good to get him possibly one less at-bat per game,” Maddon said before the Cubs beat the Cardinals 3-2 to snap their six-game losing streak.

The Cubs have scored just 12 runs in their last seven games and were coming off a month in which they batted .216. Entering Friday, they had the worst batting average in the National League with runners in scoring position at .209.

Last season, Fowler led off 119 times and gave the Cubs stability at the top of the order. That predictability has been absent this season, and Maddon conceded it could be for a while.

“It’s always nice to have [a set leadoff man]. I mean, I’m not going to deny that,” Maddon said. “It’s always nice to have a closer. It’s nice to have that table-setter, but we’ll work through all of that. I’m not hyper-concerned about it, but it’d be nice to settle in.”

Maddon’s lineup changes didn’t necessarily lead to the Cubs’ win, but they’ll take it nonetheless. Jason Heyward’s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning off Trevor Rosenthal scored Rizzo for the go-ahead run.

Rizzo doubled to begin the eighth and alertly advanced on Zobrist’s grounder to third baseman Jhonny Peralta. Rizzo took off for third when Peralta threw across the diamond to retire Zobrist.

“To get this win was nice, just to let everyone loosen up a little bit, I feel like,” Rizzo said. “We beat a good team.”

Fowler led off the game with a home run against John Lackey. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the second on Magneuris Sierra’s single. Kris Bryant put the Cubs on the board in the third with his 12th homer, off Lance Lynn.

The Cubs tied the score in the sixth when Stephen Piscotty misjudged Heyward’s towering drive to right, allowing Rizzo to score. But with the bases loaded and left-hander Tyler Lyons in, Maddon chose to replace Schwarber with Albert Almora. The Cardinals countered with right-hander Matt Bowman, prompting Maddon to pinch-hit with Jon Jay. But Jay, a former Cardinal, grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

When asked if there was any thought to letting Schwarber hit in the sixth, Maddon said, “not really.”

“Right now, the fact that he’s been struggling, I’m trying to be protective [of him] in a sense, also,” Maddon said.

Schwarber struck out in both of his at-bats, dropping his batting average to .163.

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