" Mike Fontenot hit .360 in the second half of the season, or more than 140 points higher than right fielder Kosuke Fukudome did after the All-Star break.

But manager Lou Piniella played Fukudome in right Thursday night and Mark DeRosa at second base again in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, leaving Fontenot to pinch-hit for the second straight night.

"Look, we need offense," Piniella said before the game. "He's swinging the bat well, I recognize that. We get to L.A., the weather is a little warmer, it'll be a few more days [of rest] for DeRosa, and [playing Fontenot] is certainly a viable option. Right now Fontenot is our best bat coming off the bench."

Fukudome, whom Piniella said in his postgame comments likely would not start in Game 3, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the Cubs' 10-3 loss. Fontenot grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.

Piniella is at a loss as to why Fukudome can't hit with consistency.

"You know, it's a mystery," he said. "I don't have any explanations for it."

The Cubs need Fukudome eventually to come out of his funk because he's in the first year of a four-year, $48 million deal.

"It has been a long time [since he has hit]," Piniella said. "I've had as much patience with him as anybody I've ever managed. We've given him a little rest. We've played him, we've moved him around in the lineup with the thought that, well, this will get him going, this will get him going, this will get him going. ... It has been a struggle for this young man. I feel for him. He's a good young man and he plays hard. He wants to do well."

While conceding Fukudome's defense has been solid, Piniella added: "Unfortunately, the right fielder has to swing the bat a little bit … or more than a little bit.""