The Cubs awakened Saturday in a very strange place — fifth in the National League Central standings and behind the Pirates.
But, then, that’s what happens what you can’t beat the Pirates, who have won 15 of the last 21 games between the teams dating back to September of 2009 and 3 of 4 this season.
Friday’s 4-2 loss was another microcosm of the season — poor pitching, poor hitting and poor fielding.
Forgotten in one day were those 11-1 and 9-3 victories over the Mets, as the Cubs continued their struggles on offense. They scratched out only five hits against Kevin Correia and three relievers, one of them a two-run ninth-inning consolation home run from Alfonso Soriano, who earlier made outs with three runners on base.
“We give up four runs, we have to find a way to win those games,” manager Mike Quade said.
No batter has been as baffled as cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez, who is now 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position and two outs after leaving the bases loaded in the eighth inning. He still has just one homer for the season.
“I can’t figure it out,” Quade said. “We’ve had a lot of our big bats struggle in those situations. Early on he was doing well. When a veteran guy has that going, he has to figure it out.”
Ramirez declined interviews afterward, saying “I got nothing (to say) today.”
And Quade is reluctant to move him out of the cleanup hole.
“Not right now. I don’t see that anybody’s doing the kind of damage (to replace him),” Quade said. “Rami will figure this out. We need him to figure it out and he will.”
Ramirez also committed a costly second-inning error that helped the Pirates to a pair of unearned runs. So did starter Doug Davis, giving the Cubs six multi-error innings this season.
And then Davis caused more of his own damage in the fourth when the Pirates scored their other two runs — on three walks, a hit batter and an infield single.
Davis was removed in the fifth inning, winless in all three of his starts with an ERA of 6.75, and the bullpen of Casey Coleman, Jeff Samardzija, Scott Maine and John Grabow finished unblemished.
The Cubs actually had nine pitchers in the bullpen with the addition of veteran Rodrigo Lopez, who could find himself starting soon, although not in place of Davis.
“I’m not going to make any excuses,” said Davis, who was rushed to the big leagues after signing in April following almost an entire year off. “I’ve been around long enough to know that (walking six) will come back to haunt you.”
“He was OK,” Quade said. “He does what he does. He isn’t going to give in. … Having a year off, I didn’t think he would be able to come in and be ultra-sharp and give us seven innings.”
Twitter @davandyck
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