DENVER — Cubs right-hander Michael Soroka has cleared the bullpen-session stage of the rehab on his strained right shoulder and is set to advance to throwing live batting practice.
‘‘It was a good bullpen,’’ Soroka said after throwing the second full session of his buildup Friday at Coors Field. ‘‘Obviously, [I] have to take everything that shows up on the iPad with a grain of salt, being in Denver. But all things equal, it was pretty good.’’
The altitude in Denver affects the shapes of pitches in addition to helping batted balls fly, giving Coors Field its reputation as a hitter-friendly ballpark. That’s sure to be a factor in the Cubs’ three-game series this weekend against the Rockies.
For Soroka, however, it didn’t change the main focus.
‘‘Right when we picked up a baseball, everything was feeling much better — much like it had prior to July, basically,’’ he said. ‘‘So we’ve just got to stay on top of things and make sure we keep it right there.’’
Soroka and right-handed reliever Ryan Brasier (strained left groin) are scheduled to throw live batting practice Tuesday at Wrigley Field, manager Craig Counsell said.
‘‘We’re going to probably go a little faster than we normally go here,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘Try to get him pitching and get him to a multiple-inning scenario.’’
Soroka is expected to go on a minor-league rehab assignment before being activated from the injured list. But with less than a month left in the regular season, the Cubs won’t stretch him out to a starter’s workload.
It was significant that Soroka compared what he was feeling to his pre-July form. His velocity took a dive that month. Then the Cubs acquired him from the Nationals at the trade deadline, and he left his debut with them with a strained shoulder after two innings.
‘‘Pretty rough start, obviously, to being a Cub,’’ Soroka said. ‘‘That’s not how I planned it out. And [I’m] looking forward to changing some minds and getting out there and being a good decision for this organization.’’
Offense gets hot
Three Cubs combined for four home runs in their 11-7 victory against the Rockies.
It was only the third time since the beginning of July that the Cubs hit four or more homers. They had 11 such games in the roughly three months before that.
Ian Happ and Michael Busch had one each, and Dansby Swanson had his first multihomer game since Aug. 1, 2023.
Swanson also hit a bases-clearing triple to become the third Cubs player in the modern era with at least two homers, a triple and six RBI in a game, joining Andre Dawson (June 2, 1987) and Billy Williams (May 19, 1971), according to MLB.com.
Taillon update
Right-hander Jameson Taillon (strained left groin) is set to throw a ‘‘touch-and-feel’’ mound session Saturday at Coors Field, Counsell said. He then is expected to ramp up to a more intense session Monday or Tuesday at Wrigley.
Taillon is on track to keep his stay on the 15-day IL to about the minimum.