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HOUSTON -- For a pitcher who struggled with the mental side of the game this spring, starting Tuesday's game by allowing a home run and a ground-rule double appeared to be a recipe for disaster.

But Travis Wood proved that he is a different pitcher now, recovering nicely from his unfortunate start and showing that maybe that offseason trade with the Cincinnati Reds isn’t so bad after all.

Wood didn’t allow a hit for the remainder of his outing, but his sixth-inning walk came back to haunt him and the Cubs. After giving way to reliever Shawn Camp with that walk at first base in the form of Justin Maxwell, the Astros took the lead for good two batters later on J.D. Martinez's single.

It was the best outing the Cubs received from the spot in the rotation that was previously held by Chris Volstad before he was optioned to Triple-A Iowa last week. The Cubs have still lost all nine times that spot has come up in the rotation.

“Travis was great,” manager Dale Sveum said. “A leadoff home run and other than that he was really, really good. He kept the ball on his arm side all day, he kept it down and he had a really good changeup. It was 12 mph off his fastball with some good fade.”

There was also some impressive hitting from Wood, including a double off the wall in his first at-bat that made him 3-for-3 on the season. He lined out hard to left field in his only other at-bat on the day.

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HOUSTON -- When an offensive highlight of the night is a double from the pitcher that didn’t even lead to a run, it was probably an effort not worthy of distinction.

The Cubs have now gone 59 consecutive innings without holding a lead. The last time they were on top was in the fourth inning last Wednesday at home against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In yet another game over the past week where the Cubs’ offense barely made a dent, Alfonso Soriano supplied the only run Tuesday with an impressive home run to left field.

Make that four home runs for Soriano over the past eight games. The bad news is that the Cubs have lost all eight of those games.

Doesn’t it figure that once one of the club’s power bats finally comes to life that everybody else goes into a slide, including Bryan LaHair, who now has one hit over his last 20 at-bats.

And then there is Starlin Castro, who struck out all four times he came to the plate, including once in the eighth inning with the tying run at third base and one out. His 31 strikeouts are now third most on the club behind sluggers Soriano (32) and LaHair (46). He has just four walks, or the same amount as Reed Johnson has in nearly two-thirds less at-bats.

“We just can’t seem to get anything going,” manager Dale Sveum said. “You get a guy at third and less than two outs and you get a couple of strikeouts. We just can’t get anything out of the ballpark. Soriano hit a solo shot but we just can’t seem to get that three-run shot.”

The Cubs are now batting .223 (51-for-229) with 20 runs over their last seven games after batting .277 (54-for-195) and scoring 29 runs over their five-game road trip to Milwaukee and St. Louis that ended last Tuesday.

Only Soriano is delivering now after not hitting a home run over the team’s first 30 games. He has driven in a run in eight of the team’s last 13 games.

“I started hitting homers but it’s not enough to win,” Soriano said. “It’s better to win games. I don’t care about my homers because I know I have been doing that for 12 years. The more important thing is to get a win. I don’t know what we have to do to win one game and hit more. We’re struggling not getting hits so we have to work more.”

Batting in the cleanup spot Tuesday, Soriano had a close up view from the on-deck circle of Castro’s four strikeouts.

“He’s just in his third year in the league so he’ll figure it out,” Soriano said. “That happened to him last year too. He had little struggles. It’s a long season and sometimes you have (struggles) one week or two weeks. But when you get out of your slump you become a better player. I hope when he gets out he will come out hot and be a better player.”

Soriano hopes that by everybody continuing to plug away, the offense can finally get in sync.

“I just try to do my job no matter if we’re struggling or not,” Soriano said. “If you’re young or a veteran, everybody has to do their job. I came here to play and try to do my job to make the team better and try to win.”

As far as scary moments go, Friday’s events for Paul Konerko were right there at the top of his most frightening times in the game.

The White Sox captain was concerned about possible vision loss after getting hit in the head by Jeff Samardzija.

“In the first 20 seconds I had blurred vision and was a little worried,” Konerko said. “Once I realized it was skin that had swelled up over the eye and not the eye itself I was OK in my mind.”

Konerko missed the last two games of the Cubs series over the weekend as he waited for the swelling and bruising to subside around his left eye.

“It was definitely tough not to play those other two games with the wind blowing out 100 mph,” Konerko said. “You don’t want to miss those ones, but that’s the game we play -- sometimes you get hit and have to sit out.”

Konerko totally exonerated Samardzija for the pitch. The Cubs pitcher called Konerko in the Sox clubhouse on Saturday afternoon to see how he was recovering.

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HOUSTON -- The Chicago Cubs put catcher Welington Castillo on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday, opening a roster spot for Travis Wood, who will start against the Houston Astros.

Castillo has been dealing with a sprained MCL in his right knee since Friday but hasn’t made enough progress with the injury.

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CHICAGO -- It was another typical 2012 Wrigley Field crowd Sunday and a typical Chicago Cubs effort -- decent but with conspicuous bare patches.

While the Chicago White Sox headed south with some momentum following their three-game sweep in the first of two crosstown series, the Cubs had simply notched their sixth straight loss, their fans left with the same gnawing emptiness they are expected to tolerate for the unforeseeable future.

There are no real surprises here that in late-ish May, the Cubs are scraping the bottom of the National League Central with one of the worst records in baseball. We knew it was going to be this way, didn't we? But after being handled as easily as the White Sox made it look this weekend, you get the feeling that Cubs fans, still showing up in respectable if not sellout numbers, did not necessarily think it would feel quite this bad quite this soon.

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The harsh reality of Anthony Rizzo's inevitable ascension to the major leagues dictates that baseball vagabond Bryan LaHair will be faced with changing positions or teams one more time.

The 29-year-old first baseman knows that at the very least he has earned playing time on an everyday basis.

“Whatever role I have I am going to accept it,” the affable LaHair said. “If (Rizzo ‘s promotion) is going to make our team better, then that’s what I am all about. I am all about wins.”

LaHair has played 14 games in the outfield during his brief major league career but said that no one on the coaching staff has approached him about any position shift or taking any fly balls during batting practice as of yet.

“I can handle whatever they want,” LaHair said. “Just so I play somewhere.”

The former journeyman has convinced even the most hardened baseball observers that he deserves 500 at-bats in the big leagues this season. The question is: Will all of those at bats take place for the Chicago Cubs?

Before Sunday’s game, Cubs manager Dale Sveum confirmed that Rizzo could be with the Cubs by June.

“That’s definitely going to be talked about,” Sveum said. “ He has done everything he can down there (hitting .350 at Triple A- Iowa ). When you bring a guy like that up he has to play every day and that is the million dollar question, how do we get that playing time.”

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CHICAGO -- Not even an ideal hitting day could help the Chicago Cubs on Sunday as they were shut out for the first time this season.

Sure they had scored just one run in eight separate games, but they'd at least avoided getting blanked.

That all came to an end in a 6-0 loss to a dominating Jake Peavy and the cross-town White Sox. Actually it nearly came to an end Saturday, but the Cubs managed to score four runs in the ninth inning to at least make things a little interesting.

With the wind blowing out for the first time this season Sunday, manager Dale Sveum said before the game that some offensive fireworks could be ahead. The White Sox were the only ones to light the fuse, hitting three home runs for the second consecutive day.

The Cubs scored 15 total runs in their just-completed five-game homestand, losing all five of the games.

“You know Peavy’s going to be tough, he’s one of the best pitchers in the league, but with that wind the way it was blowing you thought there would be some contact that would get up in that kind of wind and at least get a solo home run or something,” Sveum said. “We had our chances. We had the bases loaded a couple of times and didn’t do too much."

In the 27 innings against the White Sox this weekend, the Cubs scored in just three of them.

“After going through a pretty good two-week stretch, now we’re on a week stretch of no wins and obviously being swept by the White Sox at home is about as low as you’re going to get,” Sveum said.

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CHICAGO -- A sixth consecutive defeat, a sweep by the cross-town Chicago White Sox and the first shutout of the season all have Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum working on the details of a lineup change for his last-place club.

Sveum didn’t reveal too much after Sunday’s 6-0 defeat other than saying that changes are expected to happen to the top three spots in the order. That’s where David DeJesus, Tony Campana and Starlin Castro have resided most of the season, in that order.

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CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox went to the power game for a second consecutive day, finishing off the series sweep Sunday with a 6-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

How it happened: With the wind blowing out of Wrigley Field for the first time this season, only the White Sox took advantage, hitting three home runs. It was the second consecutive day the White Sox hit three home runs in a game, matching their season high. Jake Peavy gave up just three hits over 6 1/3 innings. Cubs starter Paul Maholm, who had won his last four decisions, gave up five runs for the first time since giving up six runs in each of his first two starts.

What it means: The White Sox’s domination of the Cubs continued as they improved to 18-6 in the last 24 games of the series. It was the third White Sox sweep in the series and first since 2008. The Cubs have four sweeps in the series. Interleague play on the road seems to agree with the White Sox, who have now won 20 of their last 24 games in NL parks. The White Sox are 10-1-1 over their last 12 interleague series on the road.

Outside the box (Cubs): The Cubs haven’t posted a winning record in interleague play since 2007 and didn’t help themselves this year with the three-game sweep at the hands of the White Sox. The Cubs are now 103-120 all time in interleague play, which started in 1997. They were 5-10 against the American League last season. They went 8-4 in that 2007 season, the last time they had a positive interleague record.

Outside the box (White Sox): Dunn hit two home runs against the Cubs during the weekend series and now has 43 career homers against them. It’s the most home runs Dunn has against one team. The Milwaukee Brewers rank second with 34 home runs. He has also hit 27 career home runs at Wrigley Field. Dunn’s current club remains the only team he has never hit a home run against.

Off beat: In the eighth inning, a Wrigley Field usher in the upper deck managed to get cheers from fans of both teams. When he took away a broom from a White Sox fan celebrating the sweep, he was cheered by Cubs fans. But as he walked the upper deck with it in hand, White Sox fans cheered the broom as it went past.

Up next: The Cubs will take on the Houston Astros on Monday with Matt Garza (2-1, 2.58 ERA) facing Bud Norris (4-1, 3.58) in the 7:05 p.m. start from Minute Maid Park. The White Sox will have an off-day Monday and then take on the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday with Gavin Floyd (3-4, 3.44) taking on P.J. Walters (1-1, 3.65) in the 7:10 p.m. start from U.S. Cellular Field.

"Baseball Tonight's" Tim Kurkjian looks back at the box score for Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout performance against the Astros in 1998.

CHICAGO -- If the weather is just right and there are enough seats available then it can be an ideal spot for a wedding.

That seemed to be the thinking of a couple getting married on a rooftop outside of Wrigley Field before the Cubs-White Sox game on a perfect 91-degree Sunday afternoon.

As the Wrigley Field stadium organ was playing 10 minutes before game time, the couple stood with its back to the field and against the railing of the Murphy’s Bleachers rooftop in right-center field while the ceremony took place.

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CHICAGO -- Just a year ago, Kosuke Fukudome was wearing a blue uniform when the Chicago Cubs clashed with the Chicago White Sox at Wrigley Field.

But after spending a majority of his first four major league seasons with the Cubs, Fukudome now wears black and finds himself on the White Sox’s side of the yearly crosstown rivalry. While there are the obviously differences from a year ago, Fukudome didn’t feel as if his return to Wrigley Field was anything unique.

“It’s just coming back to another ballpark, nothing different,” Fukudome said through translator D.J. Masumoto. “I had some good memories in here, of course, because I used to play here, but now I’m playing for the Sox. I would like to make some memories with the Sox.”

So far, Fukudome hasn’t made many of those on the South Side. After signing a contract with the White Sox in the offseason, he’s played in mostly a pinch-hit role and has struggled at the plate this season.

Entering Sunday’s game with the Cubs, Fukudome had six hits in 36 at-bats and had a .167 average for the season. His start in right field on Sunday marked his first start since May 7.

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CHICAGO -- Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko will miss his second consecutive game against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday after being hit by a pitch in the face in the series opener.

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As Jake Peavy prepared to pitch in the Crosstown Classic for the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, he couldn’t help but contemplate how close he came to becoming a Chicago Cub.

The 29-year-old pitcher was nearly on his way to the North side via a deal that would have sent five young Cubs players to San Diego when the Tribune Company went into chapter 11 bankruptcy. Then-general manager Jim Hendry was told by his bosses that he could not take on the hefty Peavy contract.

“I thought I was there and I knew it was very close,” Peavy said. “I was excited about it because I love the city and I have all the respect in the world for Jim Hendry and what they were doing at that time (with two straight division titles.) I loved the pitching staff that was in place and I really thought I could help, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

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CHICAGO -- With Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other world dignitaries taking time out of their busy schedule to watch Koyie Hill swing some lumber, I was tempted to ask them when NATO was meeting to decide the fate of the Chicago Cubs.

My advice: Send in the armed drones!

On second thought, forget government intervention. Cubs fans should emulate the rabble-rousers protesting around the city during the NATO summit.

“What do we want? Wins! When do we want them? Before Theo is done rebuilding the farm system in 2015!”

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