ST. LOUIS -- Anthony Rizzo is among the National League leaders in RBIs and home runs, but he's been in a funk during the Cubs' current road trip.
"He's probably trying to do too much, no question," manager Joe Maddon said of Rizzo, who entered Tuesday's game 2-for-27 in the last seven games. "Regardless of how much you tell him not to do it, he'll still do that. It's just the nature of guys like him.
"It happens every season," Maddon added of the peaks and valleys hitters experience. "If you poked your head around all the good teams in baseball, you'll have a guy on that team who is really struggling who is very good. It just happens to be his time to struggle."
Rizzo batted .218 in April but hit eight home runs and drove in 24. He has delivered when it matters, with seven game-winning RBIs so far.
"He'll get through it, we'll get through it," Maddon said. "He'll come out on the other side with a vengeance. I like that he's still out there smiling, he's a kid playing this game, and I love that. He enjoys the day. Believe me, he'll put up huge numbers by the end of the season."
• There are bad losses, and losses that a manager can stomach if he knows his team played well. Monday's loss was the latter. The Cardinals won, 4-3, on a walk-off home run by Randal Grichuk. Chicago had chances, going 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10. The Cardinals, on the other hand, went 0-for-1 with RISP.
"If we go about our business like we did last night, we'll win a ton of games this year," Maddon said.