CHICAGO -- Ben Brown came off the mound after the top of the fifth inning feeling like he was in a good spot. He had just struck out Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee and third baseman Matt Chapman, both swinging on nine combined pitches.
The only question the 25-year-old Cubs right-hander had for himself was: “Why did it take 100 pitches for me to get to where I wanted to be?”
In Chicago’s 3-1 loss to San Francisco at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, Brown allowed three runs (all earned) in five innings. He finished with nine strikeouts, the second-highest single-game total in his career, but he also gave up six hits and two free passes.
Brown started the game ahead of Giants right fielder Mike Yastrzemski in a 1-2 count, but he then threw three straight balls -- all rather far out of the strike zone -- to give up the leadoff walk. San Francisco took an early one-run lead in the frame with a pair of singles, though Brown managed to escape with no more damage done.
But then in the fourth, Brown again walked the leadoff man (Chapman) to start an inning that led to more scoring. The Giants got three more hits in the frame, driving in another two runs -- though Pete Crow-Armstrong gave Brown an assist by nailing a runner at the plate.
“We walked two leadoff hitters. That's two of their three runs,” manager Craig Counsell said. “... When it's tough to hit on a day like today [with the wind blowing in at Wrigley], or the home run was a tough thing [to hit], getting the leadoff hitter on and creating some traffic early in an inning seems to be a pretty good recipe. That's how you got to score. They did it, and we couldn't do it.”
There were some bright spots for Brown. His strikeout total was obviously one, as was his ability to throw a career-high 103 pitches -- roughly 11 months after his last outing of 2024 (when a neck issue ended his season prematurely). But he also felt good about being able to find more success after the first.
Brown referenced his start against the Phillies on April 26, when he cruised through three scoreless innings before giving up six runs in the fourth (he didn’t even finish the frame). This time, he seemed to get better as he got deeper into the game. He had multiple strikeouts in the third, fourth and fifth, striking out the side in the fifth to end his day.
“I had some bright moments early on [against Philadelphia], and then just the wheels fell off. After the game, you're like, 'I don't know what happened,'” Brown said. “And then here, the wheels kind of came back on late, really late. So I'm looking forward to just carrying that with me.”
Only 15 starts into his big league career, Brown still has plenty of room to grow. He’s shown how good he can be when he’s right, like when he tossed six shutout innings at both Dodger Stadium on April 12 and at the Brewers on Friday. But he’s also had some rough outings, like that one against the Phillies.
Wednesday wasn’t at either end of the spectrum, but Brown can find positives in grinding through five innings and keeping his team in the ballgame.
“When it comes to being a starting pitcher, it seems like the great starting pitchers find a way to keep their team in the game, even when things don't go their way,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “He definitely gave us a chance to win today."
Cubs’ Saturday starter still undetermined
Following the series finale, the Cubs announced Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd as their Friday and Sunday starters, respectively. However, with Shota Imanaga on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, they’re still determining who will take his turn in the rotation Saturday.
Chris Flexen is not out of the running, according to Counsell, despite tossing an inning of relief in each of the last two games. Jordan Wicks was an option, considering he’s on the 40-man roster, but he just had a five-inning start with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, making it unlikely he’d now get the ball Saturday.
Saturday might very well end up with Cubs pitching prospect Cade Horton (Cubs' No. 2 prospect, No. 46 in MLB according to MLB Pipeline) making his highly anticipated MLB debut, but the Cubs hadn't made that decision as of Wednesday evening.