CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs placed infielder Matt Shaw on the 10-day injured list with back soreness and recalled Pedro Ramirez to the active roster on Saturday. Shaw, 24, first experienced back soreness on Tuesday and did not improve after two days of treatment.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Ramirez's time on the active roster is expected to be brief. "It's probably going to be a shorter stint," Counsell said. Nicky Lopez can fill the infield portion of the Cubs' super-sub role.

The roster move followed a 4-2 loss to the Houston Astros on Friday that extended the Cubs' losing streak to six games. Counsell confirmed there would be changes to the starting lineup for Saturday's game.

In the series-opening loss, the Cubs scored two runs or fewer for the eighth time in 12 games. They went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

"We're in a funk right now. It's up to us to change it. We're the ones who are going to change it," Counsell said.

The Cubs have scored three runs or fewer in nine of their last 11 games and were outscored 59-31 over that stretch. They posted a collective batting average of .182 and were outhomered 20-7 during the span.

The skid included five consecutive losses and nine defeats in 11 games, following a 27-12 start that had placed the team atop the National League Central standings. Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong said the team's offensive struggles have weighed on him. "One thing I can fall back on is it's never a lack of focus but trying too hard and trying to make up for the lack of production that I have given this team and this city," Crow-Armstrong said.