Maddon to platoon scuffling Schwarber to reignite slugger's bat

Kyle Schwarber is struggling.

The Chicago Cubs outfielder was benched for Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with left-handed starter Alex Wood on the mound. Schwarber hasn't seen consistent action against lefties this season, and hasn't performed well when he has faced them, batting only .147 over 42 plate appearances.

To fix his rhythm, Cubs manager Joe Maddon is going to deploy Schwarber exclusively against righties, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. At least for the time being.

"My concern when a guy is struggling a little bit is, you don't want him to get too many at-bats," Maddon said. "Then it's really hard to get out of that mental, physical and numerical hole. By not getting him as many at-bats, it will be easy to get back to a number he's more comfortable with."

The problem is Schwarber's not doing the job against right-handers, either. He struck out in all four plate appearances Thursday night when the San Francisco Giants started Jeff Samardzija. One of his Ks came against lefty reliever Josh Osich.

Maddon added that it doesn't make sense to play Schwarber against lefties when he's laboring against right-handers as well.

"If he's not swinging the bat well against righties, it's a bad assumption on my part he's going to swing it well against lefties," Maddon said.

Schwarber is expected to be in Saturday's lineup against the Dodgers, with right-hander Brandon McCarthy penciled in to start. Sunday, however, is a different story. With Clayton Kershaw toeing the rubber, Schwarber will be relegated to potential pinch-hit duties.

Both Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ have started in left field in recent games in Schwarber's stead.