In the 2012 MLB season, 1B/OF Bryan LaHair has faced left-handed pitching in only 14.1 percent of his plate appearances. In a league that is 33 percent left-handed, 14 percent shows the Chicago Cubs have been protecting LaHair against his weaker half. But according to Cubs manager Dale Sveum, that trends ends on Thursday, as LaHair gets a start against Atlanta Braves lefty SP Mike Minor:
"The last couple games he’s been swinging really well, and he’s going to be back out there (Thursday) against a left-hander," Sveum said after Wednesday’s win. "Try to keep the lineup as stable as we possibly can and get him going against left-handers, because we’ve got to have the 3-4-5 guys consistent and doing it every night."
On his career, LaHair has hit only .111/.238/.181 against left-handed pitching, good for a .419 OPS.
Here is a look at the full lineups, courtesy of BaseballPress.com:
Cubs Lineup
- David DeJesus (L) CF
- Starlin Castro (R) SS
- Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
- Alfonso Soriano (R) LF
- Bryan LaHair (L) RF
- Geovany Soto (R) C
- Darwin Barney (R) 2B
- Luis Valbuena (L) 3B
- Matt Garza (R) P
Braves Lineup
- Michael Bourn (L) CF
- Martin Prado (R) LF
- Jason Heyward (L) RF
- Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
- Brian McCann (L) C
- Dan Uggla (R) 2B
- Andrelton Simmons (R) SS
- Juan Francisco (L) 3B
- Mike Minor (R) P
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