Lineup shuffle on deck

It isn't just that the Cubs lost two out of three games to the struggling Houston Astros, who arrived Friday at Wrigley Field with only one victory in their first nine games.

It was what manager Lou Piniella didn't see from his offense in the losses Saturday and Sunday that rattled his nerves, which is why he plans to juggle the lineup starting tonight against New York Mets left-hander Jonathon Niese at Citi Field.

''If you put five, six, seven runs on the board, it's a different story,'' Piniella said after a 3-2, 10-inning loss Sunday that was made more annoying because it was a game the Cubs led 2-0 until the eighth. ''Score two or three runs, and you can flip coins to see what happens.''

Here is what the Cubs' lineup will look like now against lefties: Marlon Byrd, who had a two-run single in the third inning against lefty Wandy Rodriguez, will bat first. Jeff Baker, who was 1-for-2 with a run scored, will bat second. After Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, look for Xavier Nady and Alfonso Soriano to bat fifth and sixth. Geovany Soto will bat seventh and Ryan Theriot, whose eight-game hitting streak ended, eighth.

''I might even move Nady to the fourth spot,'' Piniella said. ''We'll have to make some adjustments. Shake it up a little bit.''

With the Mets scheduled to start three lefties in the four-game series, the shakeup will get a quick test.

''I show up and play,'' Byrd said of batting first. ''Wherever he wants to put me. You just see it and hit it. There's no secret to it. You can't change your game.''

Baker batted second for most of the 2008 season with the Colorado Rockies, but he knows the batting order isn't necessarily as important as the approach.

''It's not that big a deal,'' he said. ''Where you hit doesn't matter; you just have to play the game. If [Piniella] thinks it matters, it matters. But it comes down to when you're in the situation, you have to execute. We just have to have better at-bats. Two runs isn't going to do it.''

Had closer Carlos Marmol been able to hold on to the 2-0 lead starter Ryan Dempster held for 7� innings, the Cubs' offensive struggles might have stayed under the radar for a little longer.

But Dempster left with two men on base in the eighth, and Jeff Keppinger's single on Marmol's first pitch scored Tommy Manzella before the inning ended. Marmol then gave up the tying run in the ninth when Hunter Pence singled with one out, stole second and scored on a double by Geoff Blum.

''I could have done a better job in the eighth,'' said Dempster, who allowed one run and four hits and struck out eight. ''I had a walk [to Michael Bourn] to put a runner in scoring position, and that put [Marmol] in a tough situation.

''Everybody goes through streaks. Our offense will go through streaks, our starting pitching will go through streaks. That's the nice part about playing the whole season: It evens out. There are going to be stretches where those guys carry the team.

''Any loss is tough, no matter how it comes. Just figure out a way to get a little bit better tomorrow.''

Color Photo: Charles Cherney, AP / Derrek Lee reacts after striking out to end the game Sunday. The Cubs lost 3-2 in 10 innings.