CHICAGO -- Victor Caratini tucked his bat under his right arm and squeezed his left hand. The Cubs' catcher knew something was not right, but he also knew the importance of the plate appearance in the seventh inning on Thursday night.

So Caratini winced his way through a few more pitches and delivered a full-count, run-scoring double off Francisco Liriano that helped the Cubs to a 2-0 win over the Pirates at Wrigley Field. On Friday morning, Chicago announced that Caratini will be sidelined for four to six weeks after a CT confirmed that the catcher sustained a hamate bone fracture. Caratini was placed on the 10-day injured list and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday.

"He was doing really well. He worked so hard during camp," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said prior to Friday's game against the Angels. "He was looking so good. He was pretty upset yesterday because he knew how well he was playing. He knew what was going on. It's truly unfortunate. That's just one of those injuries. I've been around guys that had it before. They're very freakish. They're taken care of, but they put you down for a bit."

The Cubs promoted catcher Taylor Davis from Triple-A Iowa to take Caratini's place as the backup for starting catcher Willson Contreras.

Throughout the offseason and during Spring Training, there were plenty of rumors and reports that the Cubs were searching for a more veteran backup option. Even when the Opening Day roster was virtually set, there remained rumblings that Chicago might still add a catcher. Caratini brushed aside the rumors, impressed the Cubs with a solid spring showing and kept his strong play going into the season.

"He's not asking for explanations," Maddon said. "He just kept doing his work."

With his two doubles in Thursday's win, the switch-hitting Caratini now has a .571/.647/1.000 slash line in 17 plate appearances.

"It's not easy," he said on Thursday through the Cubs' team interpreter. "Definitely frustrating, especially starting out the season the way I was hoping to. Unfortunately, those are things I just can't control. But, I'm hopeful that I'll be able to bounce back."

Maddon was asked if Caratini's injury will again ignite a search for more catching depth from outside the organization.

"I wouldn't doubt that we're probably looking a little bit," the manager said. "I would say that's probably true, but for right now we're really happy with Taylor. He's really grown among the group. He's a very good receiver. The guys like him a lot for that. Offensively speaking, he comes up with some big knocks, too. Definitely, he's at that point where he feels like he belongs here."

Caratini injured the hand initially on the first pitch of his at-bat in the seventh on a foul ball against a 91 mph fastball from Liriano. The catcher fouled off two more pitches leading up to the double, and knew by the time he reached second base that it was more than just a sore hand. Contreras replaced Caratini behind the plate in the eighth.

"I felt it crack. But I felt hot, so I kept going," Caratini said. "Once I got to second base and took off my batting glove, I could tell there was something wrong."

Worth noting
• Prior to Friday's game, the Cubs played a tribute video for Angels infielder Tommy La Stella, who spent the past four seasons (and hit .273 over 303 games) as a pinch-hitting specialist for Chicago. La Stella's 24 pinch-hits in 2018 set a single-season record for the Cubs.

"Tommy's been a big part of what we've done the last couple years," Maddon said. "He's had so many big hits for us. He's been a really productive member in the clubhouse also."

• While at Triple-A, Davis got to take a look at Cubs reliever Carl Edwards Jr., who was optioned on Saturday after a rough start to the season. Through two appearances with Iowa, Edwards has three strikeouts and no walks in 2 1/3 shutout innings.

"Carl looks good," Davis said. "Carl's throwing strikes. I think that's important. He's throwing strikes, he's getting guys out. He's doing everything he needs to do on his end, and he's getting better every day."

• Lefty Jon Lester (10-day IL, left hamstring) did some jogging and agility drills on Friday. Lefty Mike Montgomery (10-day IL, left lat) is scheduled for a bullpen session on Saturday. Lefty Xavier Cedeno (10-day IL, left wrist) was slated to throw in an extended spring game on Friday in Arizona. Righty Tony Barnette (10-day IL, right shoulder) has been cleared for live batting practice, while righty Brandon Morrow (10-day IL, right elbow) is nearing that same step.