Lance Johnson was out of the lineup Tuesday night with a swollen right hand and will have X-rays taken Wednesday in Chicago.
Johnson hurt his hand while swinging during his second at-bat Monday night but continued playing. He just returned from a groin strain and hip flexor injuries last week and was hitting .115 in 16 games.
Brant Brown, hitting .333, will replace Johnson in center and in the leadoff spot until further notice. With Johnson hurt again, the Cubs were down to three healthy outfielders Tuesday, not including infielder-outfielder Jose Hernandez.
Matt Mieske was sent down to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, and will likely be recalled if Johnson goes on the DL.
Jeremi Gonzalez will also have the middle finger on his left hand X-rayed, after hurting it in Chicago last week while fielding a line drive. Gonzalez’s injury is not considered serious, however, and he has already pitched a game since.
Hard to please: Tony Gwynn went 5 for 5 for the eighth time in his career, moving him past Wade Boggs on the all-time hit list with 2,812, tied for 36th place with George Sisler.
“He’ll get the hang of it one of these days,” Mark Grace said.
But Gwynn was unimpressed with his night and said he his mechanics were off on his first four hits until homering off Terry Mulholland in the eighth.
“At one point I was 4 for 4 and absolutely baffled sitting on the bench,” Gwynn said. “When my mechanics are good I can be consistent with the bat. When they’re not, like right now, it’s like throwing cards up in the air and sticking a hat out there. Some are going to go in, but the majority aren’t. That’s how I operate. I know no one wants to hear that after you go 5 for 5, but people who know me know that’s what’s going through my mind.”
Ch-ch-changes: Meanwhile, manager Jim Riggleman inserted Tyler Houston into the starting lineup Tuesday for the second straight night, replacing starter Scott Servais.
Houston will get more playing time against right-handers in the next few days as Riggleman tries to add some punch to the struggling lineup. Is Houston going to get a chance to earn a regular starting job?
“It’s a product of what’s going on in the lineup,” Riggleman said of the move.
In other words, since no one is hitting at the bottom of the order, someone has to pay the price and take a seat. Servais will be back in Thursday to catch Kerry Wood, but Riggleman said Houston would get another start Friday against St. Louis righthander Todd Stottlemyre.
“We’ll let it work itself out,” Riggleman said. “I’m not tied into anything. We’ll see which one takes off.”
Ole, Ole: San Diego scored an insurance run in the seventh when Carlos Hernandez plowed into Houston’s glove on a play at the plate, forcing the ball out of the catcher’s mitt for an error.
“I was anticipating something that didn’t happen,” Houston said. “My fault. That won’t happen again. No more `Ole.’ I’ll knock the guy on his butt every time from now on.”
Stretch update: Dick Vitale, Steve Stone, UIC coach Jimmy Collins, Ron Santo, Jay Leno, Joe Mantegna and Dennis Franz will be guest conductors during the upcoming homestand.
