“We need better, frankly.”
Frank, indeed.
Manager Craig Counsell didn’t beat around the bush in laying out his expectations for righty Ben Brown after he was tagged for six runs in the Cubs’ 10-4 loss to the Phillies on Saturday.
Brown made another early exit when the fourth inning quickly went south. He hit the first batter with a pitch before the Phillies started a conga line with four consecutive singles, a sacrifice fly and a two-out, two-run double by Bryce Harper. Brown allowed six runs and left before the inning ended.
It wasn’t Brown’s shortest outing — his season debut in relief against the Dodgers in Tokyo lasted only 2⅔ innings — but it continued a trend of brief outings. He has completed five innings in only two of his five starts.
“To be a starter, it’s the length in the game that we need more [of],” Counsell said. “As a starter, you’ve got to be able to navigate and limit damage. Give up runs? Yeah, it’s going to happen. But you’ve got to be able to navigate the damage to get your way [deeper] into games.
“There’s been some bright spots, and there are clearly some good things there. But 3⅔, four innings? Fortunately we’ve had off days, but during the course of a normal part of [the season], that’s going to hurt you.”
Brown didn’t disagree.
“The team needs better out of me,” he said. “The bullpen needs a break when they can get it. I was cruising toward that today, and what happened [in the fourth inning], it didn’t seem like there was an end in sight, which is unfortunate.”
Brown, 25, seemed to be on an upswing, in terms of results. He only had allowed one run across 10 innings in his two previous starts. But the issue of staying in the game has been there even in more successful outings, such as his four-inning performance last weekend against the Diamondbacks.
With months until the trade deadline, when Jed Hoyer’s front office could add to the starting staff, the Cubs need Brown and his rotation mates to deliver to help make the seasonlong loss of Justin Steele sting a little less.
And as Counsell said frankly, they need better than they’ve been getting from Brown.
Bats go quiet
Even a team as offensively prolific as the Cubs have been in the early going isn’t going to go off every day during a 162-game season.
That was the case with Phillies lefty Jesus Luzardo mostly shutting down what came in as the majors’ highest-scoring lineup.
Outside of a fifth-inning rally kick-started by a fielding error — hence the zero earned runs on Luzardo’s tab — the Cubs couldn’t muster anything against him.
Acquired in the offseason, Luzardo lowered his ERA to 1.78 with six strong innings.
Philadelphia is reaping early rewards for jumping into the arms race over the winter. Luzardo has been the brightest star in a rotation that also features Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler.
Reunited, and it didn’t feel so good
Brown was drafted by the Phillies in 2017 and spent years in their organization before being traded to the Cubs at the 2022 deadline.
He was excited to take on his former club, even if things went poorly after a good first few innings.
“Growing up for six years, dreaming about playing on that team, getting traded and dreaming about being a Cub and dominating against them is pretty cool,” Brown said. “Definitely had some bright spots today, but it wasn’t good enough.”