Coming into Saturday's game against the Reds, Cubs manager Dale Sveum was asked whether he had considered giving first baseman Anthony Rizzo a day off, in order to help fix an 0-for-22 slide over his previous five games. Svuem dismissed the notion.
"Not yet," Sveum told MLB.com. "Obviously, it's a thought, but I don't think we're quite there yet."
Rizzo rewarded his manager's patience, going 3 for 3 with two doubles in a 5-2 loss. Rizzo gave the Cubs an early lead with an RBI double, and finished with a run scored, a walk and an RBI.
Svuem told MLB.com before the game that he thought Rizzo's swing had too much movement in it recently, a problem he apparently fixed.
"Everything spirals when you try to do too much," Rizzo said. "That's what I always say is try not to do too much, which is hard to do. It's part of a season. This is one of the worst [streaks] I've ever gone through. You have to keep working and keep battling."