Cubs happy to have veteran Doug Davis as their weapon now

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Cubs reliever Marcos Mateo shares a grin with catcher Koyie Hill after putting the final touches on the Cubs’ 11-4 victory against the San Francisco Giants on Friday at Wrigley Field. | Nam Y. Huh~AP

Updated: June 15, 2011 12:25AM

Veteran lefty Doug Davis takes the mound today with ‘‘butterflies’’ and an enthusiastic endorsement from his latest manager.

‘‘I can tell you I’m glad he’s pitching for us,’’ Mike Quade said of Davis, who has been named the Cubs’ fifth starter after starting eight games for the Milwaukee Brewers last season. ‘‘Every time he’s taken the mound against us wherever I’ve been, it’s been bad. He owned us in Oakland [where Quade coached from 2000 to ’02]. He’d just throw his glove out there. And he was rough on us [the Cubs] in the playoffs with Arizona [in 2007].’’

Davis brings a lifetime 91-101 record and a 4.38 ERA to his first start since last July, when he was sidelined by elbow tendon surgery. The hope is he can help the sputtering back end of the rotation while Randy Wells (forearm strain) and Andrew Cashner (shoulder) are on the disabled list.

‘‘He’s an experienced guy. He changes speeds. He’s not going to overpower anyone,’’ Quade said. ‘‘He’s going to have to locate. But it’s rare to get a guy who is experienced with the opposition. Even with a veteran guy, though, he’s excited. Butterflies are butterflies.’’

Davis will be activated today, with a corresponding roster move.

Meanwhile, Wells will pitch his first rehab start Tuesday at Class  A Peoria. Cashner has yet to be assigned a rehab start.

Catching on

Calling a game might be the most difficult responsibility for a catcher, but Quade won’t necessarily restrict young call-up Welington Castillo to working with the Cubs’ veteran pitchers.

On Thursday, he purposely paired Castillo with young starter Casey Coleman because the two were familiar with each other from the minors.

‘‘I thought it was the best chance to put him in there right away,’’ Quade said. ‘‘Who is on the mound doesn’t matter that much to me with Castillo. He’ll have to learn quickly no matter who is on the mound.’’

Castillo is replacing Geovany Soto, who’s on the DL with a groin injury. He made his major-league debut with the Cubs last year and spent part of the season with them. He spent most of spring training with the major-league club.

Koyie Hill started Friday with Ryan Dempster pitching.

By the numbers

Quade admits to being ‘‘a numbers guy’’ who believes the Cubs’ recent failure to drive in runners in scoring position will work itself out.

‘‘We’re probably taking some pitches we could drive, but it’s just tough for me to be critical of not putting hits together,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re still putting together some good at-bats. We have too many guys who have put up good numbers in the past.’’

Quade believes the hitters are making opposing pitchers work.

‘‘We’re creating opportunities, just not cashing in on them,’’ he said.

Still, the Cubs are baseball’s worst at drawing walks, averaging only one per 14.7 plate appearances, according to STATS. Darwin Barney, Alfonso Soriano, Starlin Castro and Marlon Byrd are among the least likely major-leaguers to draw walks.

But Byrd has a 14-game hitting streak, one short of his career best, and is hitting .311 overall.

Saturday night lights

Tonight’s game will be the first on a Saturday night at Wrigley Field since Aug. 31, 2002. That was a rescheduled game that became the second of a doubleheader.

The last regularly scheduled Saturday night game at Wrigley was June 20, 1998.