(670 The Score) Behind a solid performance from right-hander Zach Davies in his team debut and closer Craig Kimbrel shutting the door in dominant fashion, the Cubs beat the Pirates, 4-3, at Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon to win their opening series of the season.
Kimbrel earned the save by throwing a perfect ninth inning for the second straight day. He has struck out five of the six batters he has faced this season.
"Craig is in a good place right now," manager David Ross said. "He is throwing strikes and getting good carry on his pitches. The ball is being thrown above the barrel, and you see a lot of foul balls. That tells me his ball is being thrown in the right place, and he is getting his secondary pitch over. Those are keys for him."
Kimbrel appears to have the same strong form that he had to end 2020, when he was unscored upon in 14 of his final 15 outings. He needed just 16 pitches to strike out the side Saturday, and it was more of the same as he threw 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes Sunday.
"He has incredible numbers and he has been an incredible closer for this long," Davies said of Kimbrel. "That is going to continue for him. The bullpen as a whole has been good. As I said, it doesn't have to be fancy. You just go out there and pitch and give your team a chance to win."
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The Cubs know what Kimbrel's dominance in the ninth inning could mean for the team for a full season.
"From a team standpoint and you have that going for you in the ninth inning, it's huge," said outfielder Ian Happ, who homered Sunday. "That allows the offense to relax and just tack on a few runs, because we know we have his presence on the mound. Seeing him throwing strikes, being really aggressive with the heater, he is one of the best to ever do it. We have all the confidence in the world in him."
The Cubs acquired Davies in a trade that sent ace Yu Darvish to the Padres in December. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on four hits while striking out five and walking three.
"It was a nice outing by Zach," Ross said. "He was really efficient early on and got two outs in the sixth. He just couldn't finish them. It was his first start for us, so you get the nerves and adrenaline out of the way."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
