MLB Hoosiers (Aug. 2): Schwarber Shines at Bat, in Field During Cubs's 2-1 Win

The Chicago Cubs have the best record in the National League, and left fielder Kyle Schwarber has been a big reason why, both offensively and defensively.

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross has a built-in out when it comes to Kyle Schwarber, his every-day left fielder who has also struggled defensively during his career. But he hasn't needed it, and Schwarber proved why again on Sunday.

Schwarber had a big double in the fifth inning that drove in a run to tie the game, and he made a huge defensive play in the 10th inning, throwing out a runner at home to keep the game tied. The Cubs then won it, 2-1 in 11 innings.

Ross usually pulls Schwarber late in games for defensive purposes but has shown enough confidence to start him in left much more often than having him perform DH duties. Schwarber has DH'ed only once in nine games. The Cubs are 7-2 and in first place in the National League Central.

“Rossy has given me a lot of confidence to let me go out there and play,” said Schwarber, who has made eight of his nine starts in left. “I’m trying to get better every day.”

We decided to start our OF/DH tracker to see how much different his plate appearances were, but he's been trotted out to left field just about every day. Here's our Schwarber OF/DH tracker:

• Outfield (8 games): 8-for-27 (.296 average), double, 2 home run, 5 runs, 6 RBIs.
• DH (1 game): 0-for-5 (.000 average)
• Total (8 games): 8-32 (.250 average)

The Cubs won Sunday despite only four hits. Three of them went a long way as Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber hit consecutive doubles for the first run and Javier Baez came through with the game-winning single in the 11th.

Schwarber is one of four former Indiana players in the major leagues. His Cubs teammate, Josh Phegley, got the start Sunday at DH but got only one at-bat before being pinch-hit for. Phegley is still hitless this season. He's 0-for-5 in the three games he's played in.

The Cubs are back in action Monday night against Kansas City.

Former Hoosier Alex Dickerson was 1-for-2 on Sunday in the San Francisco Giants' 9-5 loss to the Texas Rangers. This season, he's hitting .286 thus far, hitting 6-for-21, with a double, triple, homer and two RBIs. His teammate, Caleb Baragar, did not pitch on Sunday.

Sunday's Results

• Cincinnati 4, Detroit 3 (7 innings)
• Cincinnati 4, Detroit 0
• Baltimore 5, Tampa Bay 1 
• Atlanta 4, New York Mets 0
• Chicago White Sox 9, Kansas City 2
• Minnesota 3, Cleveland 1 
• Chicago Cubs 2, Pittsburgh 1
• Colorado 9, San Diego 6 
• Texas 9, San Francisco 
• Los Angeles Dodgers 3,  Arizona 0
• Houston 6, Los Angeles Anges 5 (11 innings)
• Oakland 3, Seattle 2
• New York Yankees 9, Boston 7

Monday's Games

• Cleveland at Cincinnati, 6:40 p.m. ET
• Philadephia at New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m.
• New York Mets at Atlanta, 7:10 p.m.
• Chicago White Sox at Milwaukee, 8:10 p.m.
• Pittsburgh at Minnesota, 8:10 p.m.
• Kansas City at Chicago Cubs, 8:15 p.m.
• San Francisco at Colorado, 8:40 p.m.
• Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego, 9:10 p.m.
• Oakland at Seattle, 9:10 p.m.

Today's Best Baseball Video

In an effort to complete 60 games for as many teams as possible, Major League Baseball has opted to switch to seven-inning doubleheaders.

Related baseball stories

• HOOSIERS IN THE PROS: There are four former Indiana players on major-league rosters on Opening Day, and three others have been assigning to alternate locations, hoping for a chance to get called up. CLICK HERE
• AUG. 1 ROUNDUP: 
• JULY 31 ROUNDUP: Schwarber's OF hit streak ends. CLICK HERE
• JULY 30 ROUNDUP: Baragar roughed up in second outing. CLICK HERE
• JULY 29 ROUNDUP: Dickerson homers, triples for Giants. CLICK HERE