Soto sits with sore foot

Catcher Geovany Soto sat out Tuesday night's game in Houston, and the Cubs could be without Soto's potent bat again for Wednesday afternoon's finale.

Soto fouled a pitch off his left foot Monday, eventually leaving the game. Koyie Hill started Tuesday.

"He was feeling good today," Cubs manager Lou Piniella told reporters before Tuesday's game. "Our trainer felt when he got up this morning he'd be stiff and sore, and that wasn't the case. So that's good news."

Since June 7, Soto was batting .322 with 11 doubles, 9 homers and 26 RBI.

Big Z update: Carlos Zambrano, who is rehabbing from anger-management treatment, traveled with Class AAA Iowa to Albuquerque on Tuesday.

Zambrano is expected to rejoin the Cubs this weekend in Colorado and apologize to his teammates in person after doing so on ESPN on Monday. On his way to Albuquerque, Zambrano talked with Cubs beat writer Carrie Muskat of cubs.com.

"I know I made a mistake," Zambrano told Muskat. "I'm a person and a human, and I know when I make a mistake. I have to come to the team and apologize.

"I'm not going to (apologize) because (the Cubs) said I have to do it. I'm going to do it from my heart. I want to be clear and at peace with my teammates."

Rotation roulette: Thursday's off-day will give Lou Piniella a chance to tweak the rotation. Ryan Dempster will start Friday's series opener at Colorado, followed by Tom Gorzelanny and Carlos Silva. In essence, Dempster jumps ahead of Gorzelanny.

Minor matters: Outfielder Matt Szczur, the Cubs' fifth-round pick out of Villanova, has hit safely in all 18 games with Class A Boise and will be promoted to Peoria (A). Szczur also is a football star at Villanova. He gained recognition this spring by donating bone marrow to a young girl with leukemia and missing 10 baseball games.