Healthy Soto paying dividends to Cubs

Cubs catcher Geovany Soto is serving notice that he's back, strong and healthy.

In the first four games of the season, the Pirates and Diamondbacks have attempted 6 stolen bases against Soto and Cubs pitchers. Soto is 2-for-6 in gunning down runners. He also nailed a runner attempting to go from first to second on a ball in the dirt during Monday's 4-1 win over the D'Backs.

Soto was 18-for-92 in throwing out runners last year, and he had surgery to clean up his shoulder last fall.

“You guys are watching the same thing I am,” said manager Mike Quade. “We've seen (Soto) before. I had him two years prior to getting here, in Triple-A, and I've never seen him throw better. And not just because of the results, but his arm strength, his consistency. And don't leave out the fact that he's blocking (balls in the dirt) and doing a whole lot of stuff real well.”

At the plate, Soto doubled twice and walked.

Where is everybody?

Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's ticket prices. Maybe it's that Cubs fans aren't sold on this team.

But Monday's announced crowd was 26, 292, the lowest announced crowd since Sept. 26, 2002, when 20,032 was the total. Estimates of how many people were at Monday's game were consistent at around 10,000.

“It was probably more aware of that when I was standing out there with them, coaching,” Mike Quade said. “I'm so involved in reading and studying. I rarely look up. It was a cool, lousy Monday day.”

Reliever Kerry Wood, whose 20-strikeout game in 1998 was witnessed by 15,758 fans at Wrigley Field, is back after two years in the American League.

“A little strange, seeing the empty seats,” Wood said. “It's our job to change that.”

Pena hurting:

First baseman Carlos Pena was taken out of Monday's game in the eighth inning for a pinch hitter. In the top of the inning, Pena hurt his right thumb trying to catch a throw from shortstop Starlin Castro. The play went for an error on Castro.

“He's OK; he's got a little sprained thumb,” Mike Quade said. “Day to day. He could play defense. He said, ‘No problem.' He said, ‘I could swing it.' But if we've got inning going here, maybe someone (else) would be better off. We got a hitter (Reed Johnson) that was 100 percent. We'll take a look at him tomorrow and see.”