PHOENIX -- Joe Maddon sat in the manager's office in the visiting clubhouse at Chase Field on Saturday afternoon with the door open. No players came in to talk to the Cubs' manager before batting practice, but he wouldn't have turned them away if they had.

That's because Maddon is taking a different approach to managing this season -- frequent communication.

The players requested it, so Maddon obliged.

“The guys wanted more of that, so I’m giving them more than that,” Maddon said. “We’ve always talked, but I’m talking texts, I’m talking emails, I’m talking constantly. I’m like a pain in the butt right now.”

This wasn’t a surprise for Cubs players entering the season. Maddon discussed wanting to take this approach during the offseason, when he read a book titled “Managing Millennials for Dummies” in an effort to better connect with his young players.

Maddon continues to adapt to his teams and tweak his managing style, and it’s led to success in the past, such as when he led the Rays to the American League pennant in 2008 and the Cubs to the World Series championship in ’16.

“I’ve always held back a little bit because, through the hitting coach, through the pitching coach, I try to stay out of your way,” Maddon said. “This year, I’m interfering a little bit more than I normally do conversationally.”

Perhaps Chicago’s players have benefited from this form of leadership. After a slow start to the season, the Cubs won 10 of 14 games prior to this weekend’s three-game series against the D-backs.

Slugger Kris Bryant is enjoying it. The 27-year-old homered on Opening Day, but he didn’t go deep again until Friday night’s loss to Arizona. However, Maddon’s support and encouragement has kept Bryant positive as he seeks other ways to contribute.

“His message is, ‘Just do something each day to help the team win,’” Bryant said. “I’ve really taken that to heart because when I was first coming up through the Minors, it was, ‘Oh, look at all these home runs,’ and, ‘He’s doing this,’ and I don’t want to be known for just doing that. I want to be known for doing other stuff on the field that helped the team win."

Davis makes first start

Catcher Taylor Davis was called up from Triple-A Iowa on April 12, but he entered Saturday with only one MLB at-bat this season. That changed Saturday as Davis made his first start, going 0-for-4, with Willson Contreras getting the day off.

Contreras had started 12 straight games behind the plate. Davis was recalled when backup catcher Victor Caratini went on the injured list with a fractured left hamate bone.

Davis batted seventh and caught right-hander Yu Darvish.

“He’s a very good receiver, he’s very good behind the plate,” Maddon said. “He’s got a great hand and he studies well, so he knows exactly what we want to do.”

Entering Saturday, Davis had played 14 games for the Cubs over the past three seasons. His only two previous big league starts came in 2017.