"For those who were worried about another injury, Kerry Wood is alive and well — and healthy.

"Only in Chicago," Wood said of concerns that his long layoff was due to injury.

Wood climbed onto a major league mound Sunday for the first time since April 16, but the "weeklong vacation," as Cubs manager Mike Quade kiddingly labeled it, was only coincidence.

"It's just kind of the way it worked out," Wood said."I tried to get in there (Saturday) but we came back and dropped a five-spot on them" so Carlos Marmol pitched instead.

"There's been days like that, but it was nice to get back out there. I wasn't as sharp as I wanted, but that's to be expected (because of the layoff)."

He pitched a scoreless eighth inning, although he walked a batter. His previous appearance April 16 was just one-third of an inning.

He's hot: Sunday began with Starlin Castro as the second-leading batter in the National League with a .393 average. Despite going 0-for-4 against the Dodgers, .376 is not bad for the league's youngest player."