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, April 18 (UPI) — Tyler Colvin smacked a double in the 10th inning Monday, chasing home Geovany Soto with the game-winning run in the Chicago Cubs’ 1-0 decision over San Diego.

Soto was on first with two outs when Colvin socked a pitch from Chad Qualls (0-1) into the right-field corner. The Cubs’ catcher rounded the bases and slid home with the winning run after Chris Denorfia’s throw from right missed the cut-off man.

The hit made a winner of Carlos Marmol (1-1), who tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings as the Cubs won the opener of a three-game series on a cold and windy night at Wrigley Field.

Chicago starter Carlos Zambrano was dominant in eight shutout innings, yielding only three hits while walking one and striking out 10.

The Padres’ Tim Stauffer countered with seven scoreless frames of his own, allowing four hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

CHICAGO, April 5 (UPI) — Tyler Colvin clubbed a two-run homer and drove in another run Tuesday in the Chicago Cubs’ 6-5 win over Arizona.

In his first start in the major leagues, Andrew Cashner gave up just one run on two hits and a walk before leaving in the sixth inning with tightness in his throwing shoulder. He didn’t figure in the decision.

James Russell (1-0) got the win in relief, holding the Diamondbacks scoreless on two hits with two strikes and no walks in 1 2/3 innings. Sean Marshall earned a save despite allowing one run in one full inning of relief for Chicago.

The Cubs’ offense featured a 3-for-4 effort from Marlon Byrd that included a run-scoring double in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Arizona starter Barry Enright gave up four runs on seven hits through six innings but escaped without a decision. Sam Demel (1-1) allowed two runs in 1/3 inning of relief to take the loss.

The Diamondbacks, losers of three straight, got a two-run single from Willie Bloomquist in the top of the seventh.

CHICAGO — Tyler Colvin made his major league debut at first base for the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, replacing Carlos Pena, who is dealing with a sprained right thumb.

Pena suffered the injury during Monday’s 4-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on a play to his far right. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“I actually made the play in the seventh on a ball into the hole,” Pena said. “As I threw the ball, I put my glove hand down and kind of jammed it into the ground.”

Pena’s hand was wrapped before Tuesday’s game.

“He’s day to day,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said. “I could probably use him if I needed him late [on Tuesday]. But we’ll see. We’ll be careful with it.”

Pena told reporters he’s anxious to play.

“I told Q if you need me, let me know, because I’m ready to go,” Pena said. “But we’re trying to be cautious. I told him if you need me to pinch hit, I’m out here working to stay loose at all times. I’m available, is what I told Q.”

With an off day on Thursday, the conventional wisdom would be for the Cubs to rest Pena for the Cubs’ first road trip, which begins Friday in Milwaukee.

“I’m still looking forward to playing tomorrow,” Pena said. “I always try to push myself too much. But I still feel tomorrow is a pretty good chance.”

The free-agent acquisition from the Tampa Bay Rays is hitting .200 with four RBIs.

Bruce Levine covers baseball for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000. Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Chicago Cubs play their last spring training game today against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In other words, it’s all over but the shouting. The same can be said about the team’s 25-man roster, which finally came together yesterday with the announcement that many fans have been dreading (or, perhaps, waiting gleefully to rage about).

I’m referring to the team’s backup catcher, of course. Yes, that was the last roster spot remaining open after the bullpen settled into place, and Carlos Silva pitched and bitched his way off of the team over the weekend. The 32-year-old Koyie Hill was awarded the lauded position of replacement backstop — and that’s why many Cubs fans are hoppin’ mad.

You see, Koyie Hill is not what you’d call a “strong hitter.” His career (774 plate appearances) batting average/on-base percentage/slugging line is .215/.276/.302 (.578 OPS, .255 wOBA). That’s actually not bad — for a pitcher. And, to make matters worse, Cubs fans watched 23-year-old catching prospect Welington Castillo put up video game numbers — .632/.696/.842 — in 19 spring training at-bats this year. The Cubs also had a 26-year-old catcher waiver-claim catcher in camp, Max Ramirez. He’s generally considered a good-hitting backstop, and he showed that in Cactus League play. Ramirez was placed back on waivers yesterday.

Of course, baseball is not just offense. It’s also baserunning and defense. Taking the former out of the equation (we are talking about a backup catcher here), Hill was considered a pretty solid defensive catcher up until last season — when he failed to gun down many base stealers (only eight, after throwing out 20 the season before) and made a few other garish mistakes. Like the entire team, he didn’t get off to a great start defensively this spring either.

So why do the Cubs stick with him? As far as I can tell, it’s because Mike Quade — and, perhaps more importantly, pitching coach Mark Riggins — see him more as a player/coach than just a backup catcher. He apparently knows what the coaching staff wants from its pitchers and can communicate that system or philosophy very effectively both on the field and in the clubhouse.

And even though the team will naturally swear up and down that it intends to contend this year, 2011 is still nonetheless a transitional year of sorts with several big contracts expiring and youngsters (Andrew Cashner, Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney, Tyler Colvin) looking to take the next step toward solidifying their respective roles with the team. So they need Koyie’s presence for stability or, to use a work I read somewhere or other recently, “continuity.”

That’s the best I can do, really. Cubs fans will just have to hope starting catcher Geovany Soto can finally have that 120- to 140-game season that’s eluded him so far. Otherwise, we’ll have to hope the team is quick to put Geo on the disabled list and call up the aforementioned Castillo in his absence. Koyie Hill seems like a great guy and his inclusion on the 25-man alone won’t make or break the Cubs season. But, combined with the pitcher, his presence in the batting order will create a black hole of epic proportions should Soto have another injury-addled season.

Deep breath. Now here’s a complete look at the North Siders’ 25-man roster:

Starting lineup

1. Kosuke Fukudome RF

2. Starlin Castro SS

3. Geovany Soto C

4. Aramis Ramirez 3B

5. Carlos Pena 1B

6. Alfonso Soriano LF

7. Marlon Byrd CF

8. Darwin Barney 2B

Bench

9. Jeff Baker IF/OF

10. Blake DeWitt IF

11. Koyie Hill C

12. Tyler Colvin OF

13. Reed Johnson OF

Starting rotation

14. Carlos Zambrano RHP

15. Ryan Dempster RHP

16. Matt Garza RHP

17. Randy Wells RHP

18. Andrew Cashner RHP

Bullpen

19. Carlos Marmol RHP

20. Kerry Wood RHP

21. Sean Marshall LHP

22. John Grabow LHP

23. Jeff Samardzija RHP

24. Marcus Mateo RHP

25. James Russell LHP

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP)—Chad Billingsley(notes) and Ryan Dempster(notes) hope they pitch nearly as well in April as they did Tuesday in the Cactus League.

Billingsley, set to be the Dodgers’ No. 2 starter, gave up four hits in six shutout innings to help Los Angeles beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in 10 innings.

He ran into trouble in his final inning, giving up a hit and two walks before a sliding catch in center field by Xavier Paul(notes) bailed him out.

Billingsley threw 94 pitches.

“And I still felt strong,” he said. “I had good fastball command, and my changeup was really good. … I want to build off today and take it into the season.”

Dempster, the Cubs’ opening-day starter, continued his excellent spring by giving up one run and six hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked one, lowering his ERA to 1.88.

“My body feels good. My pitches feel good,” Dempster said. “I was able to locate well today.

“I’m looking forward to getting out there again five days from now and tuning up for opening day.”

The Dodgers won it in the bottom of the 10th when Orlando Mercado lofted a bloop single to left off Jeff Samardzija(notes) with the bases loaded and two outs. The hit, which barely eluded a diving Fernando Perez(notes), scored Kyle Russell, who had doubled.

Jeff Baker(notes) hit a solo homer for the Cubs in the ninth to tie it at 1.

Eugenio Velez(notes), a non-roster invite to Dodgers camp, sprained his right ankle when he landed awkwardly on first base while running out an infield hit.

The injury probably ends the chance for Velez, who can play the infield and outfield, to make the club coming out of Arizona.

“He was in the mix,” manager Don Mattingly said. “He switch-hits, has that speed and is able to play the infield and outfield. He’s an interesting guy.”

NOTES: Hector Gimenez(notes), making a long-shot bid for a roster spot with the Dodgers, made his first appearance of the spring in the outfield. He threw out Tyler Colvin(notes) trying to score from second on a single by Marlon Byrd(notes). Gimenez, a first baseman, has appeared in the outfield only three times in his minor league career. At the plate, though, he was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts. That lowered his batting average to .294 with three homers and seven RBIs. … Neither team made an error. Coming into the game, the Cubs had committed 34 errors this spring, second-most in the majors behind San Diego (36). … The Dodgers reassigned RHP Oscar Villareal to minor league camp. … Byrd went 2 for 5, which actually lowered his average to .478.