ST. LOUIS — Sunday marked Anthony Rizzo’s 16th game batting leadoff this season.
That’s two more than his career total before that, all of which came last season. And manager Joe Maddon said he plans to keep his slugging first baseman there despite the Cubs’ weeklong scoring dip.
‘‘For now, yeah,’’ Maddon said before Rizzo hit a solo home run in the Cubs’ 5-2 victory in the series finale against the Cardinals. ‘‘I actually like the way it’s playing. Since the [All-Star] break, I think it’s looked pretty good, actually.”
Rizzo’s 16 games at the top of the order include the last 14 in a row.
‘‘The Diamondbacks pitched well against us and then these guys have [Friday and Saturday], but I don’t think it’s the residue of Rizzo hitting first,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘Actually, we wouldn’t have won a couple of those games had he not been hitting first.’’
In their last six games before Sunday, the Cubs had scored one, one, two, seven, two and two runs and had gone 2-4. That included a 7-6 victory Thursday in which Rizzo capped a three-run ninth inning with a walk-off home run.
The victory Sunday lifted the Cubs to 9-7 this season with Rizzo leading off. He is 24-for-60 (.400) with nine walks, four homers and a 1.208 OPS in those games.
Maddon said his reasons for sticking with Rizzo at the top include the way Javy Baez is handling RBI chances in the middle of the order and how batting the pitcher eighth has given the lineup a strong 9-1-2 that gives Rizzo more potential impact after the first inning.
‘‘We don’t have that prototypical leadoff guy,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘We don’t have that speed-burner up there to set the whole thing up. So don’t try to force it. I kind of like it.’’
Maddon: A-Rod in the wrong
Maddon was quick to jump to pitcher Yu Darvish’s defense after ESPN analyst Alex Rodriguez suggested during the broadcast that Darvish was “losing respect” in the clubhouse because the team “let him basically police and take control of his own rehab, which is scary.”
“I was not aware of the comments, but I totally disagree with that,” Maddon said when told about it. “Everybody knows what’s going on. We know that there is an injury in there. We support his recovery. Everybody in [the clubhouse] does, and everybody in the coaches’ room does also. It’s about the organization.
“It’s unfortunate that it was relayed that way, but that’s not true.”
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Must be the glasses
Newly acquired left-hander Cole Hamels, who will make his Cubs debut Wednesday against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, expects to get a performance bump down the stretch from his switch back to the National League and from the rush of going from the last-place Rangers to a pennant race.
There’s also the constant presence of his personal lucky charm: Maddon.
‘‘I like being around him,’’ Hamels said. ‘‘When he’s on the field, I do well.’’
Hamels started two of the Phillies’ victories against Maddon’s Rays on his way to earning MVP honors in the 2008 World Series. He also threw a no-hitter against the Cubs in Maddon’s first season with them in 2015.
‘‘If he’s somewhere on the field, I pitch well,’’ Hamels said. ‘‘I’m going to thank Joe for that. And then I guess I’ll have some wine.’’
This and that
Right-hander Yu Darvish played catch pain-free and expects to throw his third bullpen session Tuesday since suffering a setback and taking a cortisone shot near his pitching elbow last month.
• Closer Brandon Morrow, who’s on the disabled list with biceps inflammation, reported significant improvement but still has not thrown since his last appearance July 15.
• Albert Almora Jr. and Ian Happ were out of the starting lineup to give them back-to-back days off, including the Cubs’ scheduled day off Monday. Almora entered as a pinch hitter in the eighth and finished the game in center field.
• Reliever Anthony Bass (back) threw a light bullpen session Saturday, fared well overnight and is expected to increase the intensity in Pittsburgh.
