Alcantara will get a break from leadoff role

LOS ANGELES -- Arismendy Alcantara led off for the seventh time on Saturday, and has been inserted into that spot since Emilio Bonifacio was traded. But Cubs manager Rick Renteria will likely give the rookie a break from that role.

Alcantara is batting .179 as the leadoff man with a .207 on-base percentage, and batting .269 in the No. 2 spot.

"We might keep doing what we were doing before when we had [Chris] Coghlan leading off and Mendy second," Renteria said Saturday. "We might do that to give Mendy a different look. We'll keep mixing and matching throughout the season."

Alcantara led off at Triple-A Iowa and is used to the role. But this is the big leagues.

"We've put him in a situation at the Major League level to lead off, and it's not an easy thing to do," Renteria said. "He's holding his own and battling in his at-bats. I think by putting him in the two-hole every now and then it'll give him a chance to take a breath and step back rather than try to grind out that first at-bat of the ballgame."

Bonifacio batted first in 63 games while with the Cubs before he was traded to the Braves on Thursday.