Zach Davies tosses 7 shutout innings as Cubs hold on for 3-2 win against Pirates

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs right-hander Zach Davies searched for a way to get on track and build momentum.

His first season with the organization didn’t begin the way he or the Cubs envisioned. Inconsistent command led to too many walks and hard contact that tested Davies. He showed signs of returning to form Saturday in Cincinnati, tossing more clean innings and limiting damage on pitches down in the zone.

Davies’ progress culminated in his best start of the season Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. He threw seven shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Cubs’ 3-2 win for their fourth consecutive victory.

The Cubs narrowly avoided disaster in the ninth, almost blowing a three-run lead. But left-hander Rex Brothers, their third reliever of the inning, retired Bryan Reynolds on a flyout with the bases loaded to end it. The save was Brothers’ first since Sept. 29, 2013, with the Colorado Rockies.

In his longest outing of the year, Davies walked only one batter and didn’t allow an extra-base hit. His standout performance fittingly came against the Pirates, the team responsible for one of Davies’ worst starts of his career nearly a month ago when they shelled him for seven runs in 1 2/3 innings. Davies cited improved mechanics and repetition for his success.

“It’s really just executing pitches and reading swings for me, reading their approach and being able to continue to game plan off of that,” Davies said. “Making sure that I don’t take a pitch off, that I am paying attention on every pitch, what’s going on in the batter’s head.”

Davies didn’t need swing-and-miss stuff for success Friday. The Pirates whiffed at only one of his 81 pitches when Erik González struck out on a change-up to end the first.

Davies flashed his defensive skills on back-to-back plays in the seventh inning with the bases loaded. He saved a run from scoring by barehanding a weakly hit ball to the right of the mound and, in one motion, firing it home for the forceout. Three pitches later, Davies started a 1-2-3, inning-ending double play to maintain the Cubs’ 3-0 lead.

“That barehanded play was pretty legit,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a play like that in a while.”

A two-out dropped fly ball in the first by Pirates right field Phillip Evans gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. Joc Pederson’s RBI single the next inning extended the lead, part of his first three-hit game of the season.

The offense got to Pirates starter and former Cub Trevor Cahill once more in the third, tacking on a run off Matt Duffy’s sacrifice fly. The Cubs had opportunities against Cahill to build a bigger lead but finished the game 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Ross turned to right-hander Ryan Tepera after Andrew Chafin allowed a leadoff single to open the ninth in his second inning of work. Tepera couldn’t close it out. He struck out Evans for the first out but surrendered an RBI double that ended the shutout.

Ross turned to Brothers after Ka’ai Tom trimmed the Cubs’ lead to a run with a single. Brothers twice battled back from tough spots. His first-pitch fastball to Adam Frazier drilled him in the right shoulder to load the bases. Then the lefty fell behind 3-1 to Reynolds before the game-ending flyout on a full-count pitch.

“I thought the calmness, it shows how much work he put in this offseason to be a guy that we’ve trusted in and relied on in big moments,” Ross said. “That was a really nice performance from Rex today to kind of lock it in when he had to and make big pitches and get the last outs.”

Closer Craig Kimbrel was down and not available to pitch, Ross said, though he is not dealing with an injury. Ross expects Kimbrel to be available Saturday. Ross indicated the Cubs were thin in the bullpen Friday but didn’t provide further specifics.

“There’s a big competitive advantage to how much I tell you guys,” Ross said. “I gave you guys a lot, I think, in telling you the bullpen was short. So can we just leave it at that?”