ARLINGTON, Texas — The last time the Cubs played here, on the opening weekend of the 2024 season, the Rangers were still celebrating their first World Series title from the previous October.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old right-hander from Long Island was making his major-league debut on the mound, an occasion that was big news only in the hamlet of East Setauket, New York, hometown of Cubs pitcher Ben Brown.
A nonstop party for the Rangers, a night to forget for Brown, who was cuffed around for six runs and five hits and walked two in a nightmarish eighth inning.
A lot has happened since then on both sides of the ledger. The Rangers have descended into also-ran status in the American League West. Brown won a spot in the Cubs’ rotation last season, crashed and burned, was sent down to the minors, returned to the Cubs as a reliever, added a changeup and sinker this spring and has been Craig Counsell’s most reliable option out of the bullpen.
And Friday night at Globe Life Field, Counsell asked Brown to go back to the future. With starter Matt Boyd having surgery on his left knee and expected to miss at least six weeks, Counsell nominated Brown to start in Boyd’s place.
It could not have gone better for Brown. With no one exactly sure how much he would be able to last as a starter after functioning primarily as a two-inning option this season, Brown breezed through four innings in which he did not allow a run or a hit, walked one and struck out three and dismissed the Rangers in a conga line of harmless ground-ball outs.
“Ben obviously had a season last year where he got a big opportunity, he had some struggles, got sent to the minor leagues,’’ Counsell said. “I think all of that combined, they put him in a good mindset to, like, I’ve gotta get better at some things and improve some things. That’s really where this landed.’’
Carson Kelly was behind the plate for Brown, who was staked to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Michael Conforto’s bloop double and Ian Happ’s RBI single, then was provided a three-run cushion when Seiya Suzuki went deep with his seventh home run with a man on in the fourth.
The score was 3-0 when Ryan Rolison replaced Brown to open the Rangers’ fifth.
“I think what’s neat about him is he can start, he can relieve, he’s kind of a Swiss Army knife,’’ Kelly said. “I think he had a different attitude coming in this year. I think that attitude of he’s confident in his stuff, he’s really confident in what he wants to do, he’s better in his preparation.
“It’s the evolution of a young guy who’s starting to get his confidence and gain knowledge of the game.’’
Brown said Thursday that he thought he could be stretched out pretty quickly, and Kelly tended to agree.
“Because he’s been a starter and done both, he knows what to do to prepare for the moment,’’ Kelly said.
