Piniella won't rush Soriano's comeback

SAN FRANCISCO -- Cubs manager Lou Piniella won't rule out Alfonso Soriano returning in time to face the Milwaukee Brewers in a crucial series next week at Wrigley Field.

It's still a longshot because the Cubs don't want to risk Soriano reinjuring the strained right quadriceps he hurt Aug. 5. But Piniella liked the way Soriano looked in batting practice as he hit and ran the bases Wednesday.

"Soriano looked good; he's amazing," Piniella said Thursday. "To see him running around out there, you'd think he's one of your regulars instead of somebody that's on the DL.

"But look, we've got to be very careful. One more problem and he's out for the year. And we can't afford that. We're going to be as cautious as we can.

"We're not going to rush this thing to the point where, by rushing it, he can sustain an injury. He'll get some nice work in Arizona."

Piniella added that he's still "clinging to the first of September, but I'll tell you this, it surprised me how much work he was able to do yesterday."

It will be tempting to activate Soriano for the first-place showdown with Milwaukee, which begins Tuesday, because Soriano is "about 10 days ahead of schedule, where we thought he'd be," according to Piniella.

"I'm not going to rule it out," Piniella said. "But again, let's see what happens over in Arizona. We're going to start, not necessarily pushing him, but he's going to get a lot of steady work, and we'll see how he feels."

Walking Bonds: In the eighth inning of Wednesday's 4-2 victory over the Giants, the Cubs elected to walk slugger Barry Bonds intentionally with the bases empty and two outs.

The game was tied at 2-2, and the Cubs scored twice in the 10th. Before the series, Lou Piniella talked of not allowing Bonds to beat the Cubs. That's why he had reliever Carlos Marmol intentionally walk Bonds.

"I told Barry when I walked by him, 'You're just too good,'æ" Piniella said. "He smiled."

The first is coming: Look for the Cubs to call up no more than a handful of players from Class AAA Iowa when rosters expand Sept. 1.

Shortstop Ronny Cedeno and catcher Geovany Soto are locks to come up. If outfielder Jake Fox goes to Iowa today to make room for newly acquired Craig Monroe, Fox likely will be recalled.

"Half a dozen at most," Lou Piniella said. "People we're going to be able to use. If we're not going to use them, let's just not clutter up the roster."

It's also possible the Cubs will make another trade.

"You might see us add one more piece," Piniella said. "It's pretty close to what you're going to see."

One interesting player to watch will be left-handed reliever Will Ohman, whom the Cubs optioned to Iowa earlier this month. Cubs officials were not thrilled to hear Ohman say his shoulder was "barking" as he left for Iowa.

Entering Thursday, Ohman was 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five games at Iowa and, according to the Cubs, he is exhibiting no signs of injury.

"Ohman's been getting steady work," Piniella said. "He's been getting people out. I don't know, exactly, about his stuff. But, yeah, he'll be here, sooner or later. It's just a question of how soon."

Milestone for Wood: Cubs reliever Kerry Wood struck out Pedro Feliz in the seventh inning. It was Wood's 1,305th career strikeout, tying him for fourth place on the Cubs' all-time list with Greg Maddux.

Scouting report

Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field

TV: Comcast SportsNet today and Sunday; Channel 9 Saturday

Radio: WGN 720-AM

Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Sean Marshall (6-6) vs. Micah Owings (6-6) today at 8:40 p.m.; Ted Lilly (13-6) vs. Doug Davis (10-11) Saturday at 8:40 p.m.; Jason Marquis (10-7) vs. Yusmeiro Petit (2-4) Sunday at 3:40 p.m.

At a glance: This series is interesting because it's a possible first-round playoff matchup. The Cubs dropped two of three to the D'backs at Wrigley Field on July 20-22, with Marquis besting Arizona ace Brandon Webb for the only Cubs victory. The D'backs are a young bunch that has been the surprise team of the NL West. Chris Young entered Thursday leading NL rookies in homers with 26. The D'backs are 38-25 at home. Marquis has held Eric Byrnes to 1-for-11. Marshall is looking to win consecutive decisions for the first time since winning four straight in June.

Next: Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, Tuesday-Thursday

-- Bruce Miles