--LHP Ted Lilly turned in his second straight quality start by going six innings and giving up four hits and two runs to the Nationals Sunday. Lilly has battled arm-strength issues but his fastball seems slowly to be regaining its velocity.

--RHP Carlos Zambrano moved to 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA with seven shutout innings Saturday at Washington. Last year, Zambrano was 2-2 with a 5.77 ERA in April. He attributed this year's fast start to being in good physical shape and to throwing first-pitch strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 30 batters Saturday.

--The Cubs say LF Alfonso Soriano will be ready to come off the DL Thursday, as scheduled. Soriano has been out since straining his right calf April 16. He stepped up his workouts over the weekend in Washington, where he took batting practice, ran the bases and fielded fly balls and grounders in the outfield. The Cubs say Soriano will return to the leadoff spot when he comes back. He worked out again Sunday, although not as strenuously as Friday. The Cubs did not take regular batting practice Sunday. The Cubs plan to work Soriano out Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

BY THE NUMBERS: 4.56 -- Number of pitches per plate appearance seen by RF Kosuke Fukudome entering this week. It led the NL, but more important for the Cubs, it seems to have rubbed off on this once-free-swinging team as several players are exhibiting more patience at the plate.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We just need our guys here to get better, and I'm fairly confident they will." -- Manager Lou Piniella, on his struggling bullpen.