PITTSBURGH — Carson Kelly was the fourth Cub to step up to the plate Tuesday night against Pirates starter Andrew Heaney — the earliest a Cubs catcher has appeared in the batting order this season.
Kelly and fellow backstop Miguel Amaya have had strong offensive starts but had been kept in the bottom half of the order, often right behind outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who over the last 2½ weeks has been getting on base at a .396 clip.
“Mainly, we decided to move Dansby [Swanson] in the order for now and flip-flop him and Carson, essentially, is how I see it,” manager Craig Counsell said. “[We’re] just acknowledging what Carson’s done to this point and how well he’s swung the bat.”
Kelly entered with a ridiculously high on-base percentage of .517 through 58 plate appearances. He also led the Cubs in OPS (1.371) by a wide margin.
He provided the first runs of the game Tuesday with a two-run homer in the fourth inning, singled in Seiya Suzuki in the ninth and finished 3-for-5 with three RBI.
Swanson, who generally bats fifth but was moved to eighth, has been in a cold stretch. He entered hitting just .157 in April but finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo homer in the eighth in the Cubs’ 9-0 win.
“He’s on that far end of streakiness in just who he is as a hitter,” Counsell said. “He’s in a little bit of one of the ruts right now. And then, in the good stretches, he can carry a team for 10 or so days and be your best offensive player.
“That’s just where we’re at right now. He’ll get out of it. His defense has been phenomenal and exceptional. Just try to get him in one of those good stretches.”
Before Tuesday, Amaya’s appearance in the No. 6 spot against the Rangers earlier this month, when Nico Hoerner got the day off, was the highest in the order a Cubs catcher had batted this year.
Left on left
First baseman Michael Busch, who hits left-handed, also started Tuesday, batting fifth. It was his first time this season in the starting lineup opposite a southpaw.
“With some of the history of Heaney, that’s what put Michael Busch in the lineup a little bit,” Counsell said.
Heaney (2-2) has had reverse splits in recent years. He entered Tuesday limiting right-handed batters to a .405 OPS while lefties had a .693 OPS against him.
Busch usually hits fourth against right-handed starters, with veteran right-handed hitter Justin Turner tagging in for lefties.
Injury updates
Reliever Ryan Brasier (strained left groin) is just about through the bullpen phase of his throwing program. Counsell said he was set to graduate to throwing to hitters after his session Tuesday as long as things went smoothly.
Reliever Tyson Miller (left hip impingement) was scheduled to make the fifth appearance of his rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.
“We’re just kind of monitoring every outing and seeing where we’re at,” Counsell said.
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