"Here's how the 8th inning started for him: Single, double, walk, RBI single, RBI single, RBI groundout, sac fly, homer. Brown was mercifully lifted at that point, and Yency Almonte came in to get the final out of the inning. The rookie settled in nicely after that, splitting his time between the bullpen and rotation, but he struggled in the same role last season."
"Having just two pitches put Brown in tough spots when he fell behind in the count or when hitters just guessed correctly. That led to him being among the worst pitchers in the league when it came to allowing hard contact, and his average 92.4 mph exit velo allowed was in MLB's first percentile. His results have changed dramatically this season, largely due to the sinker he's throwing 43% of the time to right-handed hitters."
"Craig Counsell can't expect to get much more than three innings from Brown at the most tonight, so the bullpen is going to have to do some heavy lifting. Assuming Brown will continue to fill in for"
The Cubs enter a road stretch after winning nine straight games and 19 of 22, including 15 straight at Wrigley. They open a three-game set against the Rangers in Arlington, where they have not played since the start of the 2024 season. Ben Brown made his MLB debut in 2024 and struggled early, allowing a seven-run 8th inning sequence before being removed. In 2024, his control and pitch execution left him vulnerable, leading to very poor hard-contact results and extremely low average exit velocity allowed. This season, his results have improved significantly, driven largely by a sinker used 43% of the time against right-handed hitters. Craig Counsell expects Brown to pitch no more than three innings, requiring bullpen innings to cover the rest.
Read at Cubsinsider
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