While Glavine earned his 300th victory in the
Soriano pulled up between second and third on
"He's not going to be out there any time soon," manager
There was no word on the results of Soriano's MRI, but his face told the whole story.
"It looked like he was in agony,"
Cubs third baseman
Soriano leads the team with 18 home runs and 74 runs scored, and his loss could be devastating.
"How devastating?" Piniella said. "A leadoff hitter, a valuable guy, he's leading our team in home runs. He's got a lot of energy. It's going to be a tough loss. We've just got to tough it out now, that's all."
"We're a whole different team [compared with] last year," Lee said. "We have so many veteran guys and I think we have a lot more talent on this team. We're a lot deeper.
"It hurts to lose a guy like Alfonso Soriano for any length of time, but we can't lean on that. We can't use it as an excuse. We're right in this, so we've got to keep it going."
Piniella wasn't sure whom the Cubs would call up to take Soriano's spot.
The big story nationally was Glavine's successful pursuit of No. 300. The veteran left-hander held the Cubs to two runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings, becoming the first to win 300 since
Glavine said he was nervous before the game and "overwhelmed" by the reaction from fans who stayed to salute him afterward.
"I think I put a little more pressure on myself to try and get it done tonight," he said.
"Typical Tom Glavine outing," DeRosa said. "The home plate umpire was giving a little bit off the outside corner, and he just kept pumping right there."
Meanwhile, Cubs starter
Marquis didn't talk after the game, and Piniella offered a brief and blunt assessment: "Marquis? He wasn't very sharp."
The Cubs are now 7-8 since July 21, slowing down after a sizzling 29-13 stretch that catapulted them into the race. They finished the homestand with a 3-4 record against the
But the Cubs didn't lose any ground to Milwaukee, which blew a five-run ninth-inning lead on Sunday in an 8-6, 11-inning loss to the Phillies.
"The homestand was fine," Piniella said. "I mean, look, we're playing good baseball teams, No. 1. And No. 2, we're caught in this stretch of games with no days off, and today we rested our bullpen as much as I could. I've got to do it. ...
"We'd have liked to have done a little better, but we didn't. We didn't lose basically any ground, and we've just got to continue to play. Losing Soriano was the toughest thing about this homestand."
psullivan@tribune.com