Davies allowed seven runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched in the shortest outing of his seven-year career in the
PITTSBURGH – The Cubs’ rotation has had very few hiccups through the team’s first seven games and saved the bullpen from needing to eat innings, but Zach Davies ran into trouble on Saturday as the Cubs had a long, rainy night in the Steel City.
Davies had a second inning to forget in an 8-2 loss to the Pirates in a start that was not only the Cubs’ worst loss of the season, but the worst start of his seven-year career.
“It’s one of those things where you’re still trying to make pitches,” Davies said. “Trying to stay down in the zone for the type of pitcher that I am. They had a good approach off me and I just didn’t adjust.”
Things started well for Davies as he pitched a 1-2-3 first inning with a strikeout after being given a 1-0 lead thanks to a Kris Bryant RBI-double. But things quickly got out of hand for Davies in the second.
Being able to rely on pinpoint control is a must for Davies and when that control starts to slip, things begin to unravel. After a clean first inning, the Cubs’ right-hander was uncharacteristically wild, issuing free passes to two of the first three batters he faced in the second and three in the inning. The Pirates made sure to make him pay for them.
Davies wasn’t fooling hitters as the Pirates sent 12 men to the plate in the inning, collecting five hits, including doubles by Erik Gonzalez, Adam Frazier and Bryan Reynolds, leading to a seven-run second inning. According to Statcast, Davies threw just 16 of his 44 pitches in the game for strikes and got just two swings-and-misses.
“It’s really going out there and competing,” Davies said. “The second inning, I didn’t do that. Putting our team in a hole like that early in the game, it’s tough to come back. It’s tough to try and keep your guys in the game.”
It was the first time the Cubs had allowed seven runs in an inning for the first time since July 29 in Cincinnati. It was also the first time they faced 12 batters in an inning since Sept. 24, 2019 in Pittsburgh.
“I think [Davies was] kind of behind in the count a little bit,” manager David Ross said. “They stayed on some pitches really well. It looked like they were all the over the offspeed stuff. Anything up in the zone, it seemed like they were on it. Really good approach up the middle, not trying to pull off.”
Colin Moran gave the knockout blow as his two-out, two-run RBI single would give the Pirates a commanding 7-1 lead, forcing Davies to make an early exit and turning things over to reliever Alec Mills.
Davies allowed seven runs on five hits with three walks over 1 2/3 innings, making it the shortest start of his career and just the fourth time he’s ever allowed a career-high-tying seven runs in a game.
The start also broke a streak of 19 consecutive games where he allowed three runs or fewer, dating back to Aug. 31, 2019.
“It’s one of those things where it definitely sucks while it happens,” he said. “The next five-to-six days, you constantly think about these types of games. But you know, tomorrow’s a working day. The next is a working day and every day after. So my redemption is whenever my next start is.
“As a starter it kind of sucks, because you have all that downtime in between that you continue to think about the bad starts. But I’m going to work hard and I’m going to study, I’m going to do my video work and everything in between to be successful the next time out.”
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3aj3wAL
No comments:
Post a Comment