(670 The Score) Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish didn't get his season started in the way he had hoped.
In a shortened campaign in which the Cubs will need him to produce at a high level if they're to emerge as a serious contender, Darvish went just four innings and allowed three runs, all earned, while being tagged with the loss in Chicago's 8-3 setback to the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.
The mediocre start wasn't any reason for alarm, but with just 12 or so outings for each starter to prove himself, it was an initial opportunity missed.
Darvish allowed six hits while walking no one and striking out five. He allowed a two-run triple to Ben Gamel in the fourth inning that gave the Brewers a 3-1 lead that they wouldn't relinquish.
"I felt good, the stuff was good," Darvish said. "Today was better than the last three or four games. Overall, it was good but I missed the hard cutter to Gamel. I missed the soft cutter to (Lorenzo) Cain. The hit by a pitch to the catcher was a mistake."
Darvish had trouble finishing pitches and finding depth on his breaking ball.
"I was missing a lot with my splitter," Darvish said. "Some were out of the strike zone."
First-year Cubs manager David Ross suffered his first loss after Chicago earned a 3-0 win in its opener Friday evening.
"He was going to go 80 or 85 pitches," Ross said of Darvish. "I think he ended at 73. He had to work hard out there today. I didn't want to extend him too far. You could tell he wasn't his best self today. I think he would tell you that as well. He made some really good pitches at times -- couple of them weren't quite as sharp as he wanted."
Bruce Levine covers the Cubs and White Sox for 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter @MLBBruceLevine.
