Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown was asked to bounce back from a tough MLB debut, and he was not only able to do so, but he did it in style against the Colorado Rockies.
With a wind chill of 30 degrees at first pitch, Brown took the mound in the second inning in short-sleeves with no undershirt for the Cubs, and managed to pitch four innings of one-run ball in a 9-8 victory.
While Brown did not get the decision after Yency Almonte, Hector Neris, Julian Merryweather and Mark Leiter Jr. coughed up a combined seven runs in their appearances, he still turned heads with both his strong pitching and his fashion choices.
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“I’ve still got some New Yorker in me. I’ll hold onto that for a while,” he joked after the game.
Brown ultimately gave up one run in those four innings of work, scattering three hits and striking out five batters by deploying an effective curve ball and fastball combination.
When asked how he bounced back from his last appearance, when he gave up five hits and six earned runs, Brown credited better location on pitches, regardless of whether they hit their spots or not.
“My misses can all be below the strike zone. When I’m seeing those pulls gloveside, it’s uncompetitive,” he said. “Making sure I’m getting there with the curveball, the little triangle of the strike zone, it’s about making my misses competitive.”
MLB
Brown was called up to the Cubs’ roster after Justin Steele was placed on the injured list following his Opening Day start for Chicago. Luke Little served as the opener for Wednesday’s game, throwing a scoreless first inning before giving way to Brown.
Kyle Hendricks, Jordan Wicks and Shota Imanaga will get the next three starts for Chicago against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the team not naming starting pitchers for their upcoming set at San Diego’s Petco Park.