The Chicago Cubs defeated the Miami Marlins on Thursday by a 4-1 final, improving their record to 22-13 on the season. The Cubs, who lost the first game of the four-game set with Miami, have now won three in a row heading into a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. But before everyone shifts their focus to what's certain to be a spirited couple games between National League Central foes, it's worth noting that Joe Maddon and company may have unearthed a new, perhaps better way of handling Yu Darvish's starts.
Darvish's struggles since joining the Cubs have been well-publicized. He entered Thursday with a 5.79 ERA across seven starts this season, all the while averaging fewer than five innings per outing and walking nearly a batter per frame. Despite going up against baseball's worst offense, Darvish required 97 pitches to get through four innings of duty. He did hold the Marlins to one run on one hit, but found himself in pitch-count hell thanks to six walks and seven strikeouts.
Rather than push Darvish to get through a fifth inning of work -- be it to qualify for the win or to shorten the game further -- Maddon pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the fourth then inserted freshly activated Mike Montgomery as Chicago's new pitcher. That was the last pitching change Maddon had to make, as Montgomery tossed five shutout innings on 71 pitches. He struck out three batters, walked two, and permitted three hits.
It's unclear whether or not Maddon would have used the same piggyback approach to Thursday's game had the Cubs not played an extra-innings contest the night prior, but we believe he should at least consider implementing it heading forward. Here's why.
Foremost, Darvish is the least efficient pitcher in the rotation. As previously noted, he's averaging fewer than five innings per appearances. That rate may appear to be skewed by his first outing of the season, in which he was removed in the third. But including Thursday's start, Darvish has failed to record more than 12 outs in four of his eight tries. Everyone else in Chicago's starting five, sans Jon Lester (at 5.3 innings per), averages about six innings per start. Barring a turnaround, Darvish is the Cubs pitcher likeliest to require the heaviest lifting from the Chicago bullpen.
By going to the piggyback system, Maddon doesn't have to worry as much about his relievers' availability heading into or out of Darvish's starts. Rather, Maddon can designate that Montgomery is going to follow up Darvish each time out. Depending on the game's circumstances -- the score; when the pitcher's spot is due up; how Darvish is pitching -- that could mean Montgomery enters in the fourth, the fifth, or the sixth. Whenever he comes in, his job is to pitch as long as he can, based on those aforementioned factors. Sometimes, like Thursday, that means Montgomery throws the final five frames of a game.
Such an arrangement wouldn't just save the Cubs from burning out their relievers, it would also keep Montgomery stretched out better than if he were asked to pitch one or two innings here and there. That's important since it's possible he'll have to slide back into the rotation if and when one of Chicago's other starters gets hurt and/or a doubleheader pops up on the schedule.
Factor in how Montgomery is a left-hander with a style that contrasts to Darvish's, and it's likely that the buddy system would prove particularly effective against platoon-heavy lineups.
Of course, there are some potential downsides, too. Right now, the Cubs are sporting an eight-man bullpen. That may not remain the case when Ben Zobrist returns from the restricted list. If the Cubs do demote an arm, they would effectively have to roll with a six-man bullpen on four of every five games. Beyond that, Montgomery is arguably Chicago's best left-handed reliever, and his exclusivity to Darvish's starts would leave Kyle Ryan as the only southpaw in the bullpen. The Cubs would also have to pivot to a different approach if Montgomery were to get hurt or need to move to the rotation himself.
Those are all plausible pratfalls to weigh, and they may prevent the Cubs from seriously considering pairing Montgomery with Darvish. That combination worked on Thursday, however, and it makes enough sense on paper to justify trying it again.
