Cubs' sloppy play leads to ugly loss

So this was supposed to be the start of something big for the Cubs.

After winning a series against the Mets, the North Siders were prepared to keep it going and change their luck against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have had their number of late.

Uh, not so fast.

And “not so fast” might be the perfect way to describe Friday afternoon with Doug Davis, the Cubs' deliberate lefty.

He wasn't the only culprit in an uninspiring 4-2 loss to the Pirates — the Cubs offense played a part — but Davis didn't help things, as he issued 6 walks over 4⅔ innings and committed a fielding error in the Pirates' 2-run second.

The 35-year-old Davis made his third start for the Cubs, and he's been largely ineffective, with an 0-3 record and 6.75 ERA.

Davis hasn't pitched a lot this year. The Cubs signed him as a free agent in April and then had to hurry him up because of injuries.

“I'm not going to make any excuses for walking six people, that's for sure,” he said. “I've been around long enough to know that walking that many guys against any team is going to come back to haunt you. Three or 4 of those walks scored as well.”

The Cubs will dip into the geriatric pool again next Monday as recently acquired right-hander Rodrigo Lopez starts against the Astros.

At 22-27, the Cubs appear to be going nowhere fast, as they trot out a bunch of still-learning youngsters and veterans who seem to be interested in varying degrees.

Davis walked one in the second, when he and third baseman Aramis Ramirez committed fielding errors. In the Pirates' 2-run fourth, Davis walked three, gave up a hit and hit a batter.

“I say it a lot: You never know what run's going to beat you,” said manager Mike Quade. “The second inning starts out not good, and we get two gifts (groundballs) to give us an opportunity to get out of it, not just with minimum damage, but maybe with no damage. We couldn't make two plays, and they scratch for 2 (runs). All of a sudden, it's a different ballgame.

“We didn't get much done offensively, but a clean game defensively puts us in the thing.”

Speaking of the offense, Alfonso Soriano hit a 2-run homer in the ninth. It was his 12th of the year but his first since May 2. He grounded into a double play in the seventh.

The real problem is Ramirez, whose only homer came April 6. He's now 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position and two outs. In the eighth, he popped out with the bases loaded and two outs. For the day, the Cubs were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Ramirez politely declined to be interviewed.

“I got nothing today,” he said.

Quade, though, will continue trotting Ramirez out in the cleanup spot despite Carlos Pena hitting better of late.

“I can't figure it out,” Quade said of Ramirez. “We've had a lot of big bats that have struggled in those situations. Early on, he was doing well. I don't know.

“With a veteran guy, he's got that going. He's got to figure that out. His approach seems good to me. We've talked a lot about the 1-home run thing. I don't think he's swinging for the fences and having bad at-bats because he's trying to go deep. He's just not able to put the ball in play on a regular basis with authority right now.”