Cubs sit Castro; streak ends
The longest current consecutive-games streak in the National League ended Tuesday night when Chicago Cubs shortstop was given a night off against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The slumping Castro had played in 268 straight games since the 2011 season, but manager Dale Sveum decided to rest Castro, who is hitting a career-low .228, including.131 in June, and made two errors on Sunday.
"You know I have been talking about his for a while," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said, according to ESPN.com. "Sometimes you end up looking in someone's eyes to see when it is. I don't like giving any core players a day off at home. When people pay a lot of money to see their favorite player, you don't want to (rest) him at home."
Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder has the longest current streak in the major leagues at 418 consecutive games.
The 23-year-old Castro has a career batting average of .297, but he led the NL in errors the past two seasons and has 14 this year. The two-time All-Star signed a seven-year, $40 million contract during the 2012 season.
Cody Ransom got the start at short in Castro's place.
