BOSTON -- Kyle Schwarber peeked inside the Green Monster at Fenway Park, adding his signature to the graffiti there. On Sunday, he was going to try to get a view from the top of the left-field wall before the Cubs' Interleague series finale against the Red Sox.
"It's beautiful," Schwarber said of Fenway. "It's kind of that bucket list stadium you want to cross off and play at."
Schwarber felt better about playing there after delivering a tie-breaking RBI single in the seventh inning of the Cubs' 7-4 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday night. The designated hitter in this series, Schwarber has seen every left-handed pitcher the Red Sox have with the exception of Chris Sale. He also hadn't had much luck until the seventh. Schwarber struck out six times in eight at-bats before delivering that single.
"It's great to see him hang in there like that," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He's been struggling and a lot of swing and miss going on. It's like a shooting guard in basketball. He's got to keep swinging, he's got to keep shooting. It's going to come to him and when it does, the ball's going to fly really far.
"I love that he's not beaten by it, he doesn't get down, he just gets upset with himself," Maddon said. "He keeps going up for the next at-bat thinking he's going to get a line drive, and it's a beautiful thing."
Schwarber admits he does get frustrated.
"Once you step up to the next at-bat, it's a new at-bat and you have to forget what happened," he said. "You try to go up there and execute the approach."
Facing Boston starter Steven Wright marked the first time Schwarber had dealt with a knuckleball pitcher. He may have nightmares about that.
"I said, 'Tip my hat to everyone who hit that guy,'" Schwarber said. "It's some funky stuff. I guess that's why it's so effective, because it's so unpredictable."
Miguel Montero joked he was going to close his eyes and swing against Wright, but kept them open when he connected on a game-tying home run leading off the seventh. Lefty Robby Scott took over, and Jonathan Jay greeted him with a double and then scored on Schwarber's single.
The Red Sox don't have all left-handers in the bullpen -- it's just seemed that way to Schwarber.
"I got to see them [Friday] night and you have them fresh in your mind," he said of the Boston relievers. "You know what they're going to come at you with. It's more locking into the at-bat there."