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Giants-Cubs Preview

Aug 8, 2015 - 2:13 AM Kyle Schwarber is finally making Wrigley Field his own Friendly Confines and giving Joe Maddon the type of headache managers love.

The seemingly indispensable rookie looks to make another contribution as the Chicago Cubs continue their series Saturday versus the San Francisco Giants.

While the 22-year-old Schwarber is batting .345 with six homers and 20 RBIs through his first 26 games, it took him some time to adjust to hitting in front of the home fans. He had gone 2 for 13 in his first seven appearances at Wrigley before picking an opportune time to break out during this four-game series between NL wild-card hopefuls.

Schwarber hit a three-run homer in Thursday's 5-4 victory and added a two-run tiebreaking single Friday that sparked a five-run fifth and powered the Cubs (60-48) to a 7-3 win, their eighth in the last nine games that also extended their lead for the second wild-card spot over the Giants (59-50) to 1 1/2 games

"It's a nice compliment," Schwarber said about Maddon making room for him by dropping Starlin Castro. "I'm going to do whatever I can to help this team win."

It was the fourth time Maddon used Schwarber in left field, a position where he may get more consistent playing time since starting catcher Miguel Montero is healthy again and backup David Ross serves as Jon Lester's personal backstop. While three may be a crowd at the position, Maddon is riding the hot hand as Chicago chases its first playoff berth since 2008.

"At the end of the day it's about the Cubs winning," Maddon told MLB's official website prior to Friday's game. "Schwarber is the impetus regarding this maneuver, more than Starlin. We have to include Kyle right now."

Schwarber is hitting .381 with a 1.157 OPS against right-handers and will get his first crack at Giants veteran Matt Cain (2-2, 4.91 ERA), who is still trying to find his footing after undergoing elbow surgery last year. He's yielded eight runs and 18 hits in 11 innings spanning his last two starts, and opponents are hitting .303 against him in the six he's made since his return.

Cain, though, is 6-2 with a 2.38 ERA in 15 lifetime starts versus Chicago - his lowest ERA against any NL team. He has not recorded a decision in his last five starts at Wrigley dating back to 2008, and his only victory there came in his first outing in 2006.

Montero may be the odd man out Saturday since he's a .204 lifetime hitter versus Cain in 54 at-bats, and Anthony Rizzo is 1 for 16 with seven strikeouts.

San Francisco has dropped four of its last six and may need a deep outing from Cain after Ryan Vogelsong struggled as a fill-in starter for the injured Mike Leake on Friday. Its bullpen has logged eight innings in the first two games, and after throwing four shutout innings Thursday, the relievers were reached for four runs Friday.

"There's a lot of baseball left and that's enough said," manager Bruce Bochy said. "This is a tough group and we'll find a way to come out of this."

Kyle Hendricks (5-5, 3.67) is trying to win back-to-back starts after limiting Milwaukee to one run in seven-plus innings of a 4-2 victory last Saturday. It was a strong bounce-back effort by the right-hander, who had yielded nine runs in 11 innings over his previous two outings.

Hendricks is making his first appearance versus San Francisco.