3/5 Soriano to start Saturday

Alfonso Soriano isn’t worried about not getting enough at-bats this spring. Soriano will make his Cactus League debut on Saturday, starting in left field in the first of five games between the Cubs and their intracity rival, the White Sox.

“I’ve got plenty of time,” Soriano said Friday.

He is coming off a disappointing season that ended Sept. 3. Soriano underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Sept. 15 and said Friday his left knee has responded well to workouts. Even though he wasn’t going to play, he did some running before Thursday’s game and said that helped.

“I want to do that again — I was feeling good,” he said.

Soriano batted .241 in 117 games last season, hitting 20 homers and driving in 55 runs. He got a little jealous of his teammates, who bashed five home runs on Thursday in a 9-3 win over Oakland in the Cactus League opener.

“They looked like they’ve been playing for a week,” Soriano said. “If everybody stays healthy, it’ll be a good year for the Cubs.”

– Carrie Muskat