CHICAGO -- Adbert Alzolay clenched his right fist, flexed his arms and unleashed a celebratory shout from the Wrigley Field mound. The Cubs starter had just sent a changeup diving away from the bat of Yoán Moncada for a strikeout.

That sixth-inning strikeout on Saturday afternoon did not alter the course of the Cubs' 4-0 loss to the rival White Sox, but it represented a step forward for Alzolay. It has been a season full of adjustments -- growing pains included -- as Alzolay tries to cement his place as a future core piece.

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That howl on the hill? That was Alzolay showing that -- no matter what the standings say about the Cubs -- these games very much matter to him.

"Sometimes, it's to wake up the guys, too," Alzolay said. "To give them that energy ... it was more to show my team that we care for these moments, you know?"

As Alzolay has navigated through his first full season in the big leagues, the opposition's book has grown thicker on how to attack the right-hander. Left-handed batters, in particular, have grown increasingly comfortable in the box during Alzolay's outings.

Alzolay understands that his path to becoming a reliable part of the Cubs' rotation for years to come needs to include counterattacks to hitters learning his pitching habits. Along those lines, the righty has altered his arsenal against lefties as the season has progressed.

In the first three months, Alzolay went heavy on his sinker-slider mix against left-handed batters with his four-seamer mainly as a third option. Since the start of July, he has added in a cutter, increased his changeup use and featured the four-seamer less often.

"The more information a team gathers," Cubs manager David Ross said, "the more you're in the league, the more they understand where to look for pitches, what your pitches do, how the movement is. I think all this stuff is a progression in getting through a full season, getting through making adjustments.

"The league's adjusted to him. He has to continue to adjust back to what the hitters are trying to do. And I think he's done a really nice job of continuing to go out and compete."

Entering Saturday's game, lefty batters had a robust .284/.357/.665 slash line with 19 home runs in 196 plate appearances against Alzolay. For comparison, the pitcher had limited righties to a .184/.246/.279 showing with four homers in 212 PAs.

That drastic difference has contributed to a tale of two seasons for Alzolay.

The right-hander spun a 3.62 ERA with 58 strikeouts, 11 walks and nine homers allowed in his first 10 games (54 2/3 innings). Entering Saturday, he had a 6.39 ERA with 41 strikeouts, 20 walks and 14 homers surrendered in his last nine turns (43 2/3 innings).

"For me, it's still a learning process," Alzolay said.

The White Sox presented Alzolay with a lineup featuring six batters hitting from the left side. Excluding the two at-bats by White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodón, the South Siders' lefty bats finished 4-for-15 with four strikeouts against Alzolay.

"I feel that now, all the work that we've been putting in behind the scenes has been paying off," Alzolay said. "I feel that the way that we were mixing our pitches today -- the sinker, the four-seam, the changeup, the backdoor sliders -- against the lefties, it was pretty good. It allowed me to set them up for the changeup late in the count."

Before the game, Ross called Alzolay's changeup a pitch that was "still in the works" for the righty. In his last outing on Sunday, Alzolay showed off the pitch's potential with a swinging strikeout in the first inning against Nationals slugger Juan Soto.

In the sixth on Saturday, Alzolay fired a changeup to César Hernández that resulted in a swinging strikeout. Three batters later, following a two-out double by Eloy Jiménez, Alzolay answered with a gorgeous fading change that eluded Moncada's swing.

"I think today has been the best day that I've had -- feeling with all my pitches," Alzolay said. "I feel like my mechanics, my delivery, everything was in sync today. The changeup was a really, really huge pitch today in my game."

Overall, Alzolay logged 6 2/3 innings in his first career game in the Majors with no walks issued or homers allowed. The righty piled up seven strikeouts and allowed six hits, including a two-run double to Moncada in the first.

No, Alzolay did not pick up a win (he has not had a "W" next to his name since June 2), but these last two months are more about developmental victories.

That said, Alzolay does hope to be back in a position soon where the focus shifts back to winning for the franchise.

"I feel that you've got to step up in this moment," he said. "I feel that we have to keep that tradition that we had here with those guys [who were traded]. Keep pushing each other. Keep going after it."