The Chicago Cubs may have dropped the series opener 3-1 to the Detroit Tigers on Friday, but it didn’t feel entirely like a loss.
In the shadows of defeat, in a much-hyped battle between the American League-best Tigers and National League-best Cubs, the Cubs may have witnessed the emergence of a key– and much-needed– starting rotation asset.
Ben Brown stepped up in the biggest game of his young career, less than two weeks removed from one of his worst starts ever, with talk of a demotion to the bullpen buzzing about, and pitched a damn fine game.
Ben Brown Steps Up
Allowing 2 earned runs in 7 innings pitched, with 7 strikeouts, the 25-year-old sophomore righty went pitch-for-pitch with reigning Cy Young award winner and, arguably, best pitcher in baseball, Tarik Skubal. And, if not for a couple of Cubs miscues, including a mishap at third base involving Pete Crow-Armstrong, Brown could very well have emerged victorious.
The high-pressure performance builds off another quality outing back on May 31 against the Reds, when Brown took the mound in the second inning from opener Drew Pomeranz to pitch 6 scoreless innings.
All in all, the young pitcher has a 1.38 ERA in his last two appearances, with 16 strikeouts and just 2 walks in 13 innings.
If this is, indeed, an emergence and a “coming into his own,” it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for the Cubs, who will soon feel the strains of a starting rotation absent of 60% of its projected front five. With the loss of Justin Steele for the season and Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad for an undetermined amount of time, the team definitely needs plenty of pleasant surprises from their existing starters.
Chicago Cubs Elated With “Great” Ben Brown
So, one can definitely excuse a degree of elation coming from Friday’s loss.
“The last two starts, we’ve gotten the great Ben Brown,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters after the game. “That’s a great sign for us and a big step for us. And it’s a big boost of confidence for Ben. And a credit to him. Things had kind of gone off the rails a little bit for three or four starts and he has come back and arguably delivered his best two (starts) of the year. Really happy about that and happy for Ben.”
Brown has always shown flashes of brilliance in his work. However, injury last year resulted in a shortened season, and struggles with consistency have hurt him this season. But some recent quick-fix mental and mechanical retooling seems to have worked wonders, practically overnight.
Not only is the young talent seemingly more confident on the mound, but even his velocity is a slight tick higher. Against the Tigers, he threw the hardest pitch of his major league career– a 98.8 mph four-seam fastball to Colt Keith in the second inning.
Playoff Atmosphere
“That was definitely the most high-leverage, intense game I’ve ever pitched in my life,” Brown said after the game. “That was electric…Tons of fans. I loved it. They were into every pitch. Obviously, when Skubal’s pitching. It’s a different monster too…That’s what you kind of grow up dreaming about — going up against another ace.
“Being able to do that is really awesome, just keeping the team in the ballgame. But ultimately, I made some mistakes and we lost. We’ve got to regroup.”
“I’ve never been in the playoffs before,” Brown added. “But I can’t imagine it feeling much different than that.”
If things keep going as they are, Brown may find out what a “for real” playoff atmosphere feels like. The Cubs are hoping that their young pitcher responds then, like he responded Friday.
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