Brown's inconsistencies surface vs. Cards: 'It’s really frustrating'

ST. LOUIS -- Ben Brown has had a knack for delivering a strong performance under pressure this season. The Cubs' righty went toe-to-toe with Tigers' ace Tarik Skubal in Detroit, quieted the Dodgers’ lineup on the road and has logged stellar outings when it looked like his job in the rotation was on the line.

Given the way things started on Monday night -- Brown set down the Cardinals on just five pitches in the first inning -- it looked like the right-hander was on a similar path. On the road against Chicago’s long-time rivals and with Shota Imanaga in the visitors’ dugout at Busch Stadium, where he will rejoin the rotation on Thursday, Brown needed a strong start to secure his spot on the roster long term.

And then the floor fell out from under him.

“It just all happened really fast,” Brown said in the wake of the Cubs’ 8-2 loss in St. Louis. “It’s really frustrating. It’s going to be tough to sleep tonight, just knowing that I was that close to something really good tonight, and, just as fast, it all went away. It’s hard.”

Brown surrendered a quartet of two-run home runs to the Cardinals between the fourth and sixth innings, heading off the hill as the most vulnerable pitcher in the rotation as Imanaga’s return from the injured list looms. Cubs manager Craig Counsell has not revealed how the roster will be adjusted to add Imanaga, but Brown’s extreme peaks and valleys put him at risk.

“This is part of being a young starting pitcher in the league,” Counsell said, “and trying to make progress, as you have to get 15, 18 outs in a game. It’s difficult. It’s hard to see now, but there is growth happening. It’s hard to like the growth when there’s struggles going on, but that’s where the best stuff comes from. So, we’ve just got to keep working on it and improve the quality of the execution. And keep going.”

Monday’s performance by Brown was a microcosm of his season.

The hard-throwing righty held the Cardinals to a 2-for-12 showing to begin his outing, and then St. Louis went 7-for-11 with homers from Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman. Brown walked two batters in the fifth, with each free pass coming shortly before a home run.

Brown became the first Cubs pitcher since 1912 to allow four two-run shots in a game against the Cardinals. Prior to Monday, Brown had never given up more than two homers in a game.

“Ben’s got kind of a unique arsenal for a starter,” Counsell said. “Early in games, [his pitches] can overpower people. And then, as [hitters] calibrate through it, it requires him to be a little better with the execution. If it’s not, then they’re picking a pitch and if it’s in the wrong spot, it’s going to be problems. That’s kind of what we saw.”

Dating back to May 5 -- the day after Imanaga was shelved with a hamstring injury -- Matthew Boyd (2.92 ERA in 52 1/3 innings), Jameson Taillon (3.83 ERA in 47 innings) and rookie Cade Horton (3.73 ERA in 41 innings) have led Chicago’s starting staff. Colin Rea (5.92 ERA in 48 2/3 innings) and Brown (6.94 ERA in 48 innings) have swung between solid starts and games gone awry.

In Brown’s case, that has been a pattern this year. He dominated the Dodgers (April 12) and Brewers (May 2) with six shutout innings on the road in each effort -- both coming after he allowed at least five runs in his previous game. After his ERA climbed to 6.39 on the season on May 25, he responded with a 1.38 ERA across his next two against the Tigers and Reds.

“He’s a young pitcher -- there’s going to be some ups and downs,” Cubs catcher Carson Kelly said. “There is going to be some growing pain in some areas, but he’s got really good stuff and he can pitch at this level.”

The Cubs have to decide if Brown can keep working on ironing out his execution issues in the Majors, or if heading to Triple-A Iowa for a spell could give him a mental reset and more developmental runway. The alternative solutions for adding Imanaga would be moving one of Brown or Rea to the bullpen, optioning Horton or going with a six-man staff for at least one turn.

“It’s something that’s going to be in the back of your mind,” Brown said. “Obviously, when guys show up in the locker room, they need spots to pitch. It’s hard. But, ultimately, it doesn’t matter if I do my job. And I didn’t do that tonight.”