The conditions were far from ideal. Cubs right-hander Ben Brown kept blowing into his closed fist to keep his pitching hand warm. It was 36 degrees at first pitch Wednesday, and it rained intermittently.
Brown put together the best outing of his fledgling major-league career.
“He was really good against the right-handed hitters tonight,” manager Craig Counsell said after the Cubs’ 9-8 victory against the Rockies. “I thought his breaking ball was exceptional. And it felt like he was on the attack tonight, and that worked out for him.”
In a bullpen game against Colorado, Brown took on the bulk of the innings. He limited the Rockies to three hits in four-plus innings and was charged with one run. With the narrow win, the Cubs completed a three-game sweep in their first home series of the season.
The game was originally lined up to be left-hander Justin Steele’s second start. Since his left hamstring injury on Opening Day, he has been recovering well and playing catch, which should help his buildup when he’s fully cleared. But the Cubs are bracing to be without him for at least April. Wednesday was the first big hurdle.
“I feel like every time we say we have pitching depth, something happens,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said over the weekend. “And to be going through probably one of our hardest stretches of the season coming out of the gate without Justin Steele, without Jameson Taillon, it’s definitely a test to the depth that we have. But we also have a lot of young guys who are ready to prove something.”
On paper, the Rockies are by far the easiest matchup the Cubs have in the first three weeks of the season. They opened the season in Texas, facing the defending World Series champion Rangers. Next, the Cubs take on the star-studded Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Then they embark on a nine-game trip to San Diego, Seattle and Arizona.
Taillon (strained back) is scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab assignment, likely starting for Double-A Tennessee on Sunday. But Counsell said the Cubs are planning for Taillon to make several rehab appearances before returning from the injured list. So the Cubs still will likely have to fill two more open start dates on the West Coast trip if they want to keep most of their starters on a six-day rotation.
“I think it’s important,” Hottovy said. “But I also think what we want to do early is try to limit the amount of times guys go on five days’ rest back-to-back. We know it’s going to happen; there’s going to be guys who are going to throw on normal rest. But if we can do that once and then get back on to that six-day, I think it’s just going to help prolong stuff down the road.”
Brown is one of those young guys Hottovy mentioned who has something to prove. The Cubs called him up when they put Steele on the 15-day injured list Saturday, and he debuted out of the bullpen that same day. But after throwing a scoreless inning, he allowed six runs, exiting with two outs.
“One blip in the road isn’t going to change my routine and my repertoire,” Brown said. “That’s a big difference between where I was at last year; there was so much tweaking and second-guessing myself. But a little more confident this year just to [say], ‘OK, had a rough one. Where can I improve?’ ”
Against the Rockies, Brown took over for opener Luke Little, who threw a perfect first inning. Brown then faced the minimum in three of the next four innings. He took on one more batter in the sixth, allowing a leadoff double to the Rockies’ Jacob Stallings, who later scored.
“I was thankful for some snow and some cold weather, honestly,” said Brown, who pitched in short sleeves. “Just made it easier to attack hitters.”
Seiya Suzuki was the hitting star, going 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI.
