Left fielder Reed Johnson led off for the second straight game Friday, and manager Lou Piniella said the experiment to bat right fielder Kosuke Fukudome first is all but over.
Piniella reasons that when left fielder Alfonso Soriano comes off the disabled list after his broken left hand heals, he'll bat first. At that time, Piniella plans to bat Fukudome second, at least to begin. So why not get him used to it now?
"There's no sense in leading him (Fukudome) off, and Soriano comes in, and all of a sudden he's in the 2-hole," Piniella said. "So we'll put him in the 2-hole now and let him acclimate himself."
Fukudome opened the season as the Cubs' No. 5 hitter. He may yet end up back there, but Piniella said as far back as last winter that the patient hitter would be ideal to bat second. When Soriano comes back and teams with Fukudome at the top, the Cubs can go with Jim Edmonds, Geovany Soto or Mark DeRosa fifth, depending on matchups.
CUBS 2, CARDINALS 1: RHP Carlos Zambrano returned from the DL and gave the Cubs six scoreless innings of four-hit ball. All of the St. Louis hits were singles, two in the infield. RF Kosuke Fukudome homered in the first, and C Geovany Soto homered in the fourth. Reliever Bob Howry gave up an eighth-inning homer to Albert Pujols. Kerry Wood earned his 22nd save.
