Worth noting

"Yesterday, after a walk against [Roy] Halladay, I felt it tighten up a little bit," said Soto, who has struggled at the plate with one home run and a .135 average. "I hit today and felt fine, but they told me to rest it today and see tomorrow, but I'm totally fine. If they need me, I can go. If the need me off the bench."

• Manager Dale Sveum indicated that Ryan Dempster, on the 15-day DL with a pulled right quad, will be ready to make his next start on Thursday in Cincinnati. That means Saturday night's starter, Randy Wells, will be in limbo until a final decision is made sometime this week.

• In the Cubs' last six games, their starters have recorded a 2.13 ERA in 55 innings. Over that time, the Cubs have won four times.

"We've pitched really well, but we've also hit in key situations," Sveum said. "We haven't hit a lot, but we've hit enough."