HOUSTON -- Astros outfielder Brian Bogusevic finds himself in the cleanup spot in Sunday afternoon's finale against the Brewers after being held out of the lineup the previous game due to left-hander Chris Narveson getting the starting nod for Milwaukee.
Manager Brad Mills worked veteran Jason Michaels (right field) and Jason Bourgeois (center field) into the starting mix Saturday for the purpose of getting two more right-handed bats in the lineup, rather than have Bogusevic and Jordan Schafer engage in a tough lefty-versus-lefty matchup against Narveson.
The 29-year-old Narveson recorded his 10th win this season in the Brewers' 8-2 victory and continues to dominate left-handed hitters, as evident with yielding just a .206 batting average.
This played a role in Mills' decision when putting together Saturday's lineup, but at the same time, the second-year Astros skipper wants to balance the expansion of the active roster by distributing enough playing time across the board over the final month.
Bogusevic, Bourgeois, J.D. Martinez, Michaels, Schafer and J.B Shuck consist of the six outfielders the Astros will carry down the stretch.
It's a challenging scenario for Mills with the extra outfielder, as he'll play it by ear and set the lineup for each game based on the matchup.
The 27-year-old Bogusevic, who turned heads in the month of August by hitting .338 with four home runs and 13 RBI while compiling a 1.027 OPS, enters Sunday with 108 at-bats this season.
However, he only has six at-bats versus lefties.
When asked if he's concerned that Bogusevic isn't getting enough at-bats against left-handers, Mills stated it isn't a major priority.
Mills wants the flexibility to utilize the assets on the roster and doesn't want any bats to be rusty, if called upon to pinch-hit or spot start.
"I don't think that's a huge priority," Mills said. "He [Bogusevic] has six at-bats against lefties. He has hit against left-handers in the past in the minor leagues. With the expanded roster, we want to see what Bourgeois continues to do. Jason Michaels is also on the ballclub. These guys are on the club, because they are major league players. We want to be able to give them an opportunity to swing the bat and play, as well. I don't think that's a situation of lefty versus righty, as much as it is the guys on the ballclub, and being able to utilize them. If we don't utilize the other guys that are on the bench, when we do need them to pinch-hit or whatever, they aren't going to be ready at all.
"So, let's kind of go from that point of view for right now. If we were still at a 25-man roster, I could see where we could do things a little bit different. With us having the two extra right-handed hitting outfielders, let's put the best ballclub we can out there."
Bogusevic is currently hitting .296 with four home runs, 14 RBI, nine doubles and a triple in 67 games for the Astros this season.
He'll likely compete for the starting job in right field in 2012.
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