Road woes continue; Cubs' lead just 2 games

Result: Astros 4, Cubs 1. The Cubs lead the NL Central by just two games with a record of 57-40, having lost three straight. St. Louis is in second, followed by Milwaukee three games back.

What happened: The Cubs continued their Jeckyll/Hyde act between home and road. They repeatedly failed with runners in scoring position, finishing with nine hits but just the one tally against Wandy Rodriguez and a host of relievers. The Cubs have scored four runs in their last three games. That includes being held to one run on Friday by journeyman Brian Moehler, who strangely has succeeded against Chicago. That wasted Ted Lilly's sparkling start, and the Astros scored in the ninth to win 2-1. On Saturday, Houston scratched out four runs, mostly on broken-bat hits, off Carlos Zambrano, and that was more than enough. Jose Valverde fanned the side in the ninth. Zambrano's opposite-field homer in the seventh was the lone run for Chicago.

Concern: The majority of the Cubs' remaining games are on the road. The Cardinals and Brewers have plainly shown they are not going away. Despite the great success of the first half of the season, if the Cubs can't perform better away from Wrigley Field they will surely not make the playoffs.

Up next: Cubs at Astros today at 1. Ryan Dempster looks for his first road win. Houston starts Brandon Backe.