"Alfonso Soriano may have had to look twice at the lineup posted on the clubhouse wall. The long-time leadoff hitter was placed in the cleanup spot for the opener of a three-game series against the Rangers.

"He's swinging the bat as consistent as anybody we have,'' manager Lou Piniella said. "Put him in the 4-hole, try it, see how he does with it.''

Soriano is batting .323 with seven homers and 23 RBIs in 39 games. He had never batted cleanup for the Cubs, doing it last for one game with Washington in 2006."