CHICAGO -- If the Pirates are going to make a move in the National League Central, Jordan Lyles realizes his team is going to need more from him.

The Pirates right-hander hasn’t notched a win since May 23 and has taken losses in five of his past six outings. But when Lyles lasted just two-thirds of an inning and allowed seven runs in a 10-4 loss to the Cubs on Saturday at Wrigley Field, the struggles he has had lately only became more magnified.

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Lyles acknowledges it’s up to him to figure things out.

“I’m in a serious funk right now,” Lyles said. “I can’t put my hat on one particular thing. I started out the season really well … I need to figure a way to get back there, but right now it’s the low of lows for me, personally. I’m not doing my team any favors, obviously, trying to get back in this race. I have to do a lot better on my end, for sure.”

The Cubs touched up Lyles for seven runs for the second time in as many outings for the righty, who gave up seven runs on 10 hits -- including three home runs -- in four innings against Chicago on July 4.

Lyles walked four and said that he was having difficulty finding catcher Elias Diaz’s glove in Saturday’s abbreviated start. He walked leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber, which was a sign of things to come. He was lifted nine batters later after walking Schwarber for the second time.

Lyles’ 43-pitch outing continued a downward spiral that has continued over his past six starts, in which he has allowed 27 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings.

“[They] are what they are,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We’ve had conversations and physically, he’s fine. … It’s been pitch execution.”

Lyles agreed.

“I was spraying balls all over the place [Saturday],” he said. “It was a bad day overall and command was at the top at that list.”

Jung Ho Kang and Starling Marte provided the majority of the Pirates’ offense with solo home runs off Cubs starter Jon Lester. Corey Dickerson plated a run with a fielder’s choice in the seventh that scored Jose Osuna, who led off with a single.

Marte then connected on his second homer of the day, his 15th of the season, a solo shot off Randy Rosario to lead off the eighth.

After allowing a three-run homer to Willson Contreras and a two-run single to Lester, Lyles’ day ended one batter later with his fourth walk. But the Cubs kept piling on against Chris Stratton, who gave up an RBI single to Javier Baez before he struck out Kris Bryant to finally end the frame. Stratton gave up three runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Lester, who drove in three runs after he added a solo home run in the third inning, kept the Pirates from scoring until the fifth inning when Kang connected on his ninth home run. Marte, who delivered a three-run blast in Friday’s 4-3 loss, followed up with another solo shot in the sixth inning - the 100th of his career.

The lopsided loss included Luis Escobar’s Major League debut. Escobar entered the game following Stratton. Escobar became the first Pirates pitcher to retire Lester by striking the left-hander out in the fifth inning. He allowed four hits in two scoreless innings.

After Escobar threw his first pitch, Diaz rolled the ball into the Pirates’ dugout for safe keeping. Escobar said he would like the ball to go to either his mother or his grandfather, who celebrated a birthday on Saturday. Escobar said he tried not to allow himself to get caught up in his surroundings but instead just focused on the task at hand.

“It felt great,” Escobar said through a team translator. “I felt like I was genuinely accomplishing the dream that I worked so hard to accomplish.”