Cubs could go with an opener to help Ben Brown with first-inning trouble

Associated Press

2 days ago

CHICAGO (AP) — Ben Brown has struggled in the first inning so far this season. While he works on a solution, the Chicago Cubs might try a different approach.
Manager Craig Counsell said the team could use an opener on Saturday for Brown's regular turn in the rotation. The plan depends on what happens during Friday's series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.
Brown was hit hard in his last two starts, allowing 14 runs and 14 hits over nine innings in no-decisions at Miami and Cincinnati. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has a 9.90 ERA in the first inning this year.
'I'm getting so excited, so pumped up to pitch I'm losing kind of sight of what I do best,' Brown said. 'And it's like a mental (thing) not being able to throw strikes. There's a real dynamic to the first inning of baseball games that is different than other innings.
'So I have been working a lot with coaches and trainers, just trying to navigate throughout the process to make it a little bit easier for me.'
Brown, 25, relies heavily on his four-seam fastball and a knuckle curveball. He has been working on adding a changeup to his repertoire, and he said he has been encouraged by the results so far.
'I think the changeup will be something I continue to use more and more,' he said. 'I mean in my bullpens, it's so comfortable. ... I think that's going to be real important.'
Brown was acquired in an August 2022 trade with Philadelphia. He made his major league debut last year, going 1-3 with a 3.58 ERA in eight starts and seven relief appearances with Chicago.
In his most recent start Sunday against the Reds, Brown walked his first two batters on nine pitches. He ended up surrendering four runs in the first after he was staked to a 2-0 lead.
'I think there's things Ben can do better,' Counsell said. 'I think when you use an opener for a starter you're trying to get a better solution in the first inning and then you're trying to probably get a better solution kind of as you get to the back end of the appearance, with hitters 19 to 25 or something like that.'
Counsell had another left-hander in his bullpen for the matchup with Cincinnati after Chicago signed Génesis Cabrera on Thursday's off day. Right-hander Brooks Kriske was designated for assignment.
Cabrera, 28, had no record and a 3.52 ERA in six appearances for the New York Mets before he was designated for assignment last weekend.
'I think we're continuing to try to just add depth and incrementally upgrade,' Counsell said. 'I think we're going through a stretch of the season right now where I think left-handers are going to help.'
Cabrera, who is from the Dominican Republic, is 17-14 with a 3.88 ERA in seven major league seasons, also playing for St. Louis and Toronto.
'I like to compete,' Cabrera said through a translator. 'I can actually go in in any situation. ... High-leverage or any inning, anything like that. I'm a competitor.'
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