CHICAGO -- The trade that sent ace Yu Darvish to the Padres over the winter was a tough one for Cubs fans to swallow. Darvish had developed into a fan favorite and he gave Chicago a Cy Young Award contender last summer.

The trade signaled that the Cubs' front office was keeping one eye very much on the long-term picture. And at the time, it was uncertain what the move meant for the 2021 season, given that Zach Davies was the lone Major Leaguer acquired in the swap.

In a 4-3 win over the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Davies showed that perhaps Cubs fans should not have slept on his ability to help the North Siders in this crucial campaign. No, the righty does not boast the deep arsenal of Darvish, but Davies has made a living off of bad swings and shaking heads.

"Whatever trade I'm a part of," Davies said, "you kind of just let it go and do your job out there. Getting hung up on that, at least personally, it doesn't do anything for me."

Davies did a lot to help the Cubs to the win column Sunday, leading the way to a season-opening series win. Here is a look at his performance, and two more key elements to the victory over the Pirates.

1. Davies' solid debut
Kris Bryant has more career plate appearances against Davies than any other pitcher. Ian Happ has just one hit in 13 battles with the starter, who used to frustrate Cubs batters primarily during his days with the rival Brewers.

"He's a really, really confident pitcher," Happ said. "He doesn't try to do too much. He works both corners and he really understands himself."

Early on in Sunday's outing, Davies recognized that the Pirates were feeling him out. Identifying that patient approach, Davies began his start sinker-focused. He featured his changeup just once within his first 15 pitches, and made it through two innings on 20 pitches total.

"Being able to get ahead of guys, being able to locate the fastball," Davies explained, "just helps that changeup play more and get them more aggressive and swinging out of the zone."

Davies finished with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings and held the Pirates to a 1-for-18 showing before his final four batters. In that late span, Colin Moran sliced a sinker high into a friendly wind, which carried it out to left for a two-run homer.

"It looked like he was in complete control -- very efficient early on," Cubs manager David Ross said of Davies. "I feel like that's what we can expect out of him a lot."

2. Bryant's busy day
In the sixth inning, Bryant chased down a fly ball that drifted into foul ground. As the baseball sailed into the seats, the third baseman slammed his knees into the cement wall, missing the padding.

Bryant quipped after the game that he told president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to make sure more padding is added.

"We'll see if I have any pull around here," Bryant said.

It was a brief scare that issued a reminder of just how critical Bryant is to Chicago's offense. When healthy, he has hit at MVP-caliber levels. Last year was one of those injury-marred campaigns in which his production cratered.

Out of the gates, Bryant looks healthy and locked in. He drew a walk in his first trip to the plate on Opening Day, launched a homer and walked Saturday and went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, double and walk in Sunday's win.

Bryant's single off of Pirates starter Mitch Keller in the first inning came with an exit velocity of 107.5 mph, per Statcast. That marked his hardest-hit ball to the opposite field since May 21, 2017.

"They're shifting him to the pull side on the infield," Ross said, "and he takes that ball and laces it to right in that 3-1 count. If he's in that spot and locked in like that, I think we're going to see a great version of Kris Bryant this year."

3. Kimbrel's first save
Closer Craig Kimbrel allowed five runs in his first three outings for the Cubs in 2019. He gave up seven runs in his first four appearances last year. This spring, Kimbrel yielded nine runs in his first three Cactus League games.

"I'm focusing on this year and not the past," Ross said.

Right now, Kimbrel looks extremely sharp for Chicago.

In the ninth inning Sunday, the veteran closer struck out two and faced the minimum to collect his first save of the season. That came after he struck out the side in order in the ninth Saturday. His curve has bite and his fastball has that vintage Kimbrel rise.

"Craig's in a good place," Ross said. "He's throwing strikes, getting good carry on his ball. The ball's off the barrel."

In Sunday's save, Kimbrel was averaging 96.4 mph with his fastball and topped out at 97.1 mph, which is a good sign for this early in the year.

Ross is quick to remind that this looks like a continuation of Kimbrel's strong finish to last year. After his rough start to the season, the righty had a 1.42 ERA in his last 14 games. He had a flawless September with a 0.00 ERA, 13 strikeouts and no walks.

"He's on the attack," Ross said. "I don't know if there's any big turning point. I think he had a really good season last year outside of a couple outings."