"Coming off a rough 2009 season and a worse first week of this season, it would have been hard to imagine Alfonso Soriano's year looking like this barely a month later.

But there he was Friday, hitting so well, playing with so much more life, that manager Lou Piniella made him his cleanup hitter on Friday for the opener of a three-game series in Texas.

''I'm living the dream that I want to live,'' said Soriano, who hit well in Philadelphia this week and overall was batting .362 in May with four homers and 12 RBI.

''I'm staying healthy and playing hard like I want. Running good -- running the bases good and playing defense.''

While the scoring part of the Cubs' hitting this season has been anything but a dream for the club, Soriano has probably done even more after being reunited with former Texas hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo than anyone would have dreamed."