Extra bases
• Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced an ordinance at Wednesday's city council meeting which would allow the Cubs to play 40 night games a season and an additional 11 more if Major League Baseball requests the change.
The Cubs currently play 30 night games, and they have asked for more as part of the Wrigley Field renovation plan.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs would schedule 35 of the 40 dates, and the other five would be held in reserve for night games dictated by MLB or its national television contract. Playoff games, rescheduled games and the All-Star Game would not count among the 40 games.
The Cubs also want four concerts per season and six 3:05 p.m. CT starts on Fridays.
• Alfonso Soriano, 37, did not start Wednesday as the Cubs took advantage of an off-day Thursday to give the veteran a breather.
"You try to give him these kind of days off," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "He seems to perform better after the days off. Whether you feel good or not, your legs are getting pretty beat up and tired when you get to that age."
• The Cubs briefly considered giving Travis Wood an extra day after he threw a season-high 114 pitches Tuesday, but Sveum said the rotation will stay in order. Wood has thrown seven straight quality starts, and his next start will be Monday, when the Cubs open a six-game homestand against the Rockies.
• Kyuji Fujikawa threw 16 pitches and allowed one hit over two innings in his second rehab outing Wednesday. The Japanese right-hander entered in the seventh for Double-A Tennessee against Birmingham and retired the side in order, needing just six pitches. In the eighth, he gave up a leadoff single, then picked off the baserunner. Of his 16 total pitches, 10 were strikes.
The reliever has been on the disabled list since April 13 with a strained right forearm. He's expected to join the Cubs this weekend in Washington to face the Nationals.
• The Cubs announced after the game Wednesday that third baseman Ian Stewart had cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa. Stewart now is no longer on the 40-man roster. He missed all of Spring Training after suffering a strained left quad in an intrasquad game on Feb. 21, and in 13 games with Iowa, he was 4-for-44 with one double.