6/17 Feeling left out

The Cubs will see three right-handed pitchers in the upcoming Interleague series against the White Sox, which is a good thing. They are having a tough time against lefties. Chicago entered Sunday’s game 3-14 against left-handed starters and batting .224 against southpaws, third lowest in the National League.

“It’s almost a fluke,” Dale Sveum said. “Coming into the season, I thought that would be one of our strong points.”

He thought that because of players like Jeff Baker, who batted .314 against lefties last season but is hitting .244 this year.

“It’s not that they’re doing horrible but we’re not getting the slugging percentage at all against left-handed pitching which is holding us back from scoring multiple runs in an inning,” Sveum said.

On Saturday against Boston lefty Jon Lester, the only player to do damage was the only lefty in the lineup, Luis Valbuena, who hit a three-run homer.

– Carrie Muskat