May 31, 2011 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) Iowa Cubs
Des Moines, IA – The Chicago Cubs announced today that they have placed OF Alfonso Soriano on the disabled list with a left quadriceps strain and have recalled OF Tyler Colvin from Iowa. The I-Cubs have also added IF Augie Ojeda to the active roster today. Ojeda joins the club in Nashville from extended camp in Mesa, AZ where he has been recovering from back spasms that cut short his spring training.

Colvin was optioned from Chicago on May 17 and batted .260 with five doubles, two triples, a home run, and eight RBI in 12 games with Iowa. It was his first career stint at Triple-A.

Ojeda signed a minor league contract with Chicago in January and was in camp competing for a spot on Chicago’s Opening Day roster before being slowed by injuries. This is Ojeda’s third stint in the Cubs’ organization. He last played with Iowa in 2006 and batted .248 with three homers and 26 RBI in 115 games. He also split time between Iowa and Chicago in 2000 and 2002-03. He has spent the last four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks and hasn’t played in a minor league game since 2007 when he appeared in 32 games with Tucson. Ojeda has a career .234 average in 502 Major League games, including 148 with the Chicago Cubs. Ojeda was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the 1996 draft out of the University of Tennessee. He was traded to the Cubs on December 14, 1999 for RHP Richard Negrette.

The Cubs start a four-game series in Nashville tonight. RH Casey Coleman makes his first start of the season for Iowa after being optioned from Chicago on Saturday. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. and will be broadcast live on AM 940 with the Safeco On-Deck Circle Pre-Game Show starting at 6:45.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Tuesday May 31, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have put left fielder Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left quadriceps.

They recalled outfielder Tyler Colvin from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.

Soriano was hurt in the first inning Monday trying to beat out a groundball to third. He pulled up a few feet from first base, holding his left thigh.

Soriano leads the team with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs. He is hitting .271.

Colvin was hitting .260 with a home run and eight RBIs at Iowa. He was sent down May 16 to get more at-bats after hitting just .113 with two home runs in 62 at-bats with the Cubs.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

The Chicago Cubs recalled outfielder Tyler Colvin from the triple-A Iowa Cubs on Tuesday after putting outfielder Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day disabled list.

Colvin was optioned from Chicago on May 17 and batted .260 with five doubles, two triples, a home run, and eight RBI in 12 games with Iowa.

The Iowa Cubs also added infielder Augie Ojeda to their active roster on Tuesday. The veteran has been recovering from back spasms that ended his bid to make the Chicago Cubs’ opening day roster.

Ojeda spent the past four seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks and hasn’t played in the minor leagues since 2007. He last played with Iowa in 2006.

The Iowa Cubs start a four-game series in Nashville on Tuesday night. Right-hander Casey Coleman makes his first start of the season for Iowa after being optioned from Chicago on Saturday. The game starts at 7:05 p.m.

Iowa Cubs’ 2011 schedule

Updated May 31, 2011 5:58 PM ET

CHICAGO (AP)

The Chicago Cubs have put left fielder Alfonso Soriano on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left quadriceps.

They recalled outfielder Tyler Colvin from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.

Soriano was hurt in the first inning Monday trying to beat out a groundball to third. He pulled up a few feet from first base, holding his left thigh.

Soriano leads the team with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs. He is hitting .271.

Colvin was hitting .260 with a home run and eight RBIs at Iowa. He was sent down May 16 to get more at-bats after hitting just .113 with two home runs in 62 at-bats with the Cubs.

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza will not come off the disabled list to pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend.

Garza, who was retroactively placed on the 15-day DL on May 18 with a right elbow contusion, will throw a bullpen session on Wednesday, and if all goes well he will throw another on Saturday in St. Louis.

The Cubs were hoping Garza, who is eligible to come off the DL on Friday, would be able to pitch against the Cardinals this weekend.

Garza reported no pain after throwing from flat ground before Monday’s game against the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field.

“Everything felt great,” Garza said Monday. “Obviously [I] won’t be able to test [my arm] 100 percent until game time, but right now I feel great.”

Garza, who has not thrown since May 17 in Cincinnati when he went six innings in a no-decision, has a 3.72 ERA and leads the National League with 10.99 strikeouts per nine innings. He is the third member of the Cubs’ starting rotation to hit the disabled list this season.

The Cubs rotation for their weekend series against the Cardinals will be Ryan Dempster on Friday, Randy Wells on Saturday and Carlos Zambrano on Sunday.

Bruce Levine covers the Cubs for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.

(Sports Network) – The Houston Astros have posted multiple victories on only
three occasions this season and look to make it a fourth when they resume a
three-game series against the Chicago Cubs tonight at Wrigley Field.

Houston ended a three-game slide with Monday’s series-opening 12-7 win in the
Windy City thanks to four home runs and a 16-hit attack. Jeff Keppinger put
the game away with a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, while
Clint Barmes hit a two-run shot and both Hunter Pence and J.R. Towles added
solo blasts for the Astros in the opener of a seven-game road trip.

Keppinger collected four RBI and Pence finished 3-for-4 with two runs batted
in and four runs scored. Michael Bourn got into the act with three hits and
three runs scored for Houston, which won two straight from April 19-20 and May
22-23 and a season-high three in a row from April 30-May 3 this season.

“We’re competitors,” said Pence, who is hitting .435 with two homers and nine
RBI during an 11-game hit streak. “We’ve got to have relentless persistence.
Where we’re at is not a good spot to be. We’ve had some tough losses and it
hasn’t been good, but as competitors and professionals, we’ve got to fight,
claw and scratch every single day. We need to do this more often. That’s the
bottom line.”

Aneury Rodriguez drew the start for Houston and did not record a decision
after he was reached for six runs — four earned — and seven hits in four
innings of work. Sergio Escalona earned the win with a scoreless fifth inning
for a Houston club that will also visit San Diego for four games.

With Astros left-hander Wandy Rodriguez on the disabled list with a balky
elbow, Jordan Lyles will make his major league debut tonight in the middle
contest of this set. Lyles, 20, went 3-3 with a 3.20 earned run average in 10
starts this season with Triple-A Oklahoma City before his promotion.

“As a little kid, I always wanted to play in the Majors,” Lyles said on
Houston’s website. “I never thought I’d pitch in the big leagues at 20 years
old, but that will come Tuesday.”

That time has come for the young right-hander, who gets an immediate taste of
NL Central action against the rival Cubs. Lyles was the 38th overall pick in
the 2008 First-Year Player Draft and lost out on a chance for the fifth spot
in the rotation to Nelson Figueroa. Catcher Jason Castro will be transferred
to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Lyles.

Chicago has lost three of four games and fell to 3-4 on a nine-game homestand
with Monday’s loss. Rodrigo Lopez made his 2011 debut for the Cubs and was
roughed up for six runs on 10 hits in only 4 2/3 innings for the no-decision.
Lopez was traded to Chicago from Atlanta last week.

“Well, I’m not satisfied,” said Lopez. “I think I let the team down. You know,
I got a lot of run support from the team.”

Former Notre Dame football star Jeff Samardzija absorbed the loss for
permitting two runs on two hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Scott
Maine did no better by allowing three more runs in the ninth.

Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer and finished with three RBI, while Blake
DeWitt registered three hits and knocked in a run in defeat. The Cubs are a
banged-up bunch right now and placed Jeff Baker on the disabled list with a
strained groin before yesterday’s game. Reed Johnson and Marlon Byrd are
already on the DL and slugger Alfonso Soriano left Monday’s game after
straining his left quadriceps in the first inning. Soriano could miss
tonight’s game.

“It’s unfortunate to see Sori go down like that,” said Blake DeWitt, who took
over for Soriano in the field. “I haven’t heard anything, but hopefully he’s
all right. He’s a big part of this team. It’s a tough loss today.”

Getting the call for the Cubs tonight will be veteran Carlos Zambrano, who is
aiming to win back-to-back home starts for the first time since Aug. 30-Sept.
4, 2010. Zambrano is 1-1 in five starts at Wrigley this season and last
pitched there in a 9-3 win over the New York Mets on Thursday.

Big Z held the Mets to a pair of runs — one earned — and six hits in six
innings to improve to 5-2 in 11 starts to go along with a pedestrian 4.59
earned run average. Zambrano notched his first home win since Sept. 4 and went
3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored at the plate.

The fiery right-hander defeated Houston on April 13 this season in a 9-5 win
despite yielding all five runs over 5 2/3 frames. Zambrano is 15-8 with a 2.78
ERA in 32 career games (30 starts) against the Astros and is 4-0 with a 1.51
ERA during a four-game home winning streak in this series, dating back to July
20 of the 2006 campaign.

The Cubs took two of three meetings with Houston from April 11-13 this season
at Minute Maid Park. The Astros went 11-7 in last year’s series with the Cubs.

The Sports Network