CHICAGO -- Zach Davies established himself as one of the better starting pitchers in the National League during the first half of this season, but he has found himself in a bit of a rut since the All-Star break. The Brewers right-hander's issues continued in Friday afternoon’s 6-2 defeat to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“Just trying to do too much,” Davies said of his outing. “Trying to get guys out in ways I usually don’t.”

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Davies' recent issues have come from the inability to keep the ball in the ballpark. He has a 6.23 ERA in his five starts since the break but initially started the second half strong, pitching six innings of one-run ball on July 13 against the Giants and seven innings of one-run ball on July 18 against the D-backs. But he’s allowed 17 earned runs and six homers over his last three outings, including two more home runs in Friday’s loss.

“He just had a hard time finding the edges of the plate, where he needs to live on,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He can’t pitch like that.”

Jason Heyward's leadoff home run gave the Cubs a quick lead. Ryan Braun tied the game in the top of the second with a solo dinger of his own, but Chicago went ahead again with a three-run third, highlighted by a two-run shot from Javier Báez.

“I feel that I’m fine,” Davies said. “The pitches that I threw that were hit out -- the pitch to Baez was six inches off the plate. It is what it is. I wanted it in, I got it there and he got it. The pitch to Heyward, he’s a pretty good low-ball hitter. In a 2-0 count, he’s looking to swing.”

If you dive deep into Davies’ last three starts, you’ll find a lot of similar traits. A few scattered hits mixed in with some spotty location in an inning or two that leads to a lot of hard contact.

The Cubs put 11 balls in play against Davies on Friday that were hit 95 mph or harder, according to Statcast, four of which resulted in hits in that game-changing third.

“I think it’s just a byproduct of bad counts and bad location. If he doesn’t have location, he’s going to get hit. Zach will tell you that too,” Counsell said. “He’s gotta make pitches and he’s got to be ahead in the count to make the hitters defend against multiple pitches.

“The way Zach pitches, it’s not going to be overpowering so it has to be the command, and the location has to be there.”

While the increase in hard contact and homers may just be part of a bad month, Davies knows his pitch quality and location must improve to get back to the reliable style that made him one of the best pitchers in the NL during the first half.

“There’s a lot of baseball left,” he said. “You hate to keep saying it, but it’s true. Can’t give up on a season now.”