MESA, Ariz. - Alfonso Soriano hit a three-run homer for Chicago, Mike Cameron homered for Milwaukee, and the Cubs and Brewers wrapped up their Arizona spring schedules with a 10-10 tie in 10 innings on Thursday. | MLB page | Video

"It's time to go," Soriano said. "We're ready now to play some real games."

On Thursday, both teams sent mostly minor leaguers to the mound, and the Brewers started pulling their position players in the third inning. They didn't bother to stick around for the ending, either. Dressed in suits and toting suitcases, the regulars emerged from the third base dugout after the top of the eighth and strolled up the right-field line toward the exit.

Their next stop is Milwaukee, where the Brewers will host Kansas City in a two-game exhibition series on Friday and Saturday. The Cubs will go to Las Vegas for two against Seattle. The favorites in the NL Central, Chicago and Milwaukee will open the season at Wrigley Field on Monday.

Cameron, of course, won't be there.

He'll serve a 25-game suspension because he tested positive for a banned stimulant a second time, so his solo homer during a six-run second inning could be his last for a while. He does plan to play against Kansas City.

"I get a chance to go home and regroup and watch from afar, and just try to keep myself mentally sharp," Cameron said. "Mentally, getting myself into that mind frame is going to be very important. Hopefully, when I get back, I don't miss a beat."

Soriano answered Cameron's homer with a three-run shot in the bottom of the second that made it 6-4, and the Cubs tied it at nine with a three-run seventh.

The Brewers' J.J. Hardy seemed fine after being sidelined since March 17 by a bacterial infection. He had two hits, including a double, and scored twice.

"I feel normal," Hardy said.

And the Cubs feel pretty good, too, although they still have some decisions to make.

Piniella had said Sean Marshall was the front-runner to land the left-handed reliever spot, but it might go to Carmen Pignatiello after an outstanding spring. Marshall probably didn't help himself by allowing a run and walking three in two innings. Pignatiello has done nothing but help himself this spring.

His ERA was 0.90 after pitching a perfect ninth and earning his second save in a 7-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. And that could leave Marshall, who entered camp competing for a spot in the rotation, out of a spot.

"The way Pignatiello is pitching, it's starting to make you review your choice a little bit," Piniella said. "Not that we don't like Marshall. We do like Marshall, but boy, this young man has really, really pitched well this spring. And he's done that role before."

Marshall hasn't.

He has made just two relief appearances while starting 43 games in two seasons with the Cubs and has never relieved in the minors. In hindsight, Piniella said it would have been "more prudent" to move him to the bullpen earlier this spring.

They did when Scott Eyre started experiencing pain in his left elbow because of a bone spur, a condition that will cause him to miss the start of the season.

"We didn't think we'd have room on the roster for two lefties," Piniella said. "That's why that wasn't made. With Scotty's elbow acting up some, if we had done this a couple weeks ago we'd have a real clear-cut answer on the subject."