Soto walked two but turned in a scoreless eighth inning to earn a hold Friday against the Cubs.
Soto worked the eighth inning with the Pirates up 2-0, setting up Dennis Santana for the save. While Soto has allowed five walks across 8.1 innings, he has allowed only one earned run while racking up 13 strikeouts. Though it looked like he could challenge Santana for saves to begin the season, Soto has now worked in a setup role in consecutive appearances.