Cubs Observations: Pirates Clobber Zach Davies in Blowout Loss

Observations: Pirates clobber Davies in Cubs' blowout loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The Cubs fell to the Pirates 8-2 on Saturday night, dropping to 4-4 on the season.

Here’s 10 observations from the game.

1. Cubs center fielder Ian Happ led off Saturday and drew a five-pitch walk in the first inning. That’s the fifth time in eight tries this season Cubs leadoff hitters have started a game with a walk — Happ doing so four times.

2. With an RBI double in the first inning Saturday, Kris Bryant is up to six extra-base hits through eight games. Last season, he had just 10 extra-base knocks in 34 games.

3. With eight hits on Saturday, the Cubs have now recorded more than five hits three times this season.

4. Even with those eight hits, the Cubs are striking out about twice as often this season. Through Saturday, they have 40 hits compared to 81 strikeouts 

5. The Cubs’ pitch-to-contact rotation has delivered good results early, but the Pirates’ bats put the ball in play with plenty of success on Saturday.

Zach Davies lasted just 1 2/3 innings — the shortest outing of his career — while allowing seven earned runs on five hits and three walks. The Pirates sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning alone, scoring five times with two outs, seven times overall.

A snapshot of that inning:

Walk, double, walk, single, strikeout, 3-6 fielder's choice groundout, double, walk, double, single, walk, fly out to right field

6. Davies’ seven earned runs allowed Saturday are tied for most in a single outing in his career. He’s given up seven on three previous occasions. 

Coincidentally, two of those outings were against the Cubs, the other against the Pirates.

Aug. 18, 2016 vs. Cubs (4 IP)

June 20, 2017 vs. Pirates (5 IP)

July 28, 2019 vs. Cubs (5 IP)

7. Saturday snapped Davies’ 19-start streak of allowing three earned runs or less. The last time he allowed more than three in an outing was all the way back on Aug. 25, 2019, when he allowed four against the Diamondbacks as a member of the Brewers.

8. The Cubs’ starting rotation ERA jumped to 4.81 with Davies’ outing. Entering Saturday, Cubs starters held a combined 3.35 ERA.

9. Alec Mills continued his good start to the season pitching in relief with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit. He's allowed just one run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings this season.

10. Former Cubs farmhand Phillip Evans is off to a scorching start offensively. Evans, who spent 2019 in Triple-A Iowa, is hitting .391 (9-for-23) in seven games. He went 2-for-4 with a home run Saturday.

Next up: The Cubs and Pirates wrap up their three-game series with a rubber match Sunday in Pittsburgh. Former Pirate Trevor Williams (1-0, 3.00 ERA) and JT Brubaker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) are the probable starters.

First pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. CT.

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