The Chicago Cubs sent Ben Brown down to Triple-A after he gave up eight earned runs in an 8-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 23. Nearly a month later, Brown gave up seven earned runs in his first appearance in the majors since he was sent down to Iowa.
On Monday night, Brown gave up seven runs on seven hits and two home runs in 4.0 innings pitched. He added four strikeouts in the Cubs’ 12-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals in front of 38,117 fans at Wrigley Field.
The loss knocked the Cubs to second place in the NL Central, one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Brown slipped to 4-7 on the season with a 6.48 ERA in 17 appearances and 83.1 innings pitched. H’s given up a total of 60 earned runs.
Following the game, Brown told reporters that he needed to be better in the future if he wanted more chances to pitch for the Cubs in the majors.
“Whatever opportunity is ahead of me, I have to be better to earn that,” Brown said via Marquee Sports Media.
"Whatever opportunity is ahead of me, I have to be better to earn that."
Ben Brown reflects on his outing. pic.twitter.com/gpqg3aiXtC
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 22, 2025
Many Cubs fans on social media believe the team should not give him another chance this season.
“Ugh!!! I mean, if the Cubs aren’t gonna trade him- put send him down to get better?” wrote a fan.
“You don’t have another chance. You should have done well when you had the chance,” posted another.
“Brown belongs in Iowa for good,” believes a poster.
“It’s an opportunity to gas up and drive back to Iowa. I wanted to bring somebody up to start these bullpen games but not this batting practice pitcher. See ya kid!” wrote a fan.
“Ben was good but Kelly can’t be the catcher. Reese is a better defensive catcher. McGuire knows how to call a game. We need pitching but Ben needs a real catcher,” argued a fan in Brown’s defense.
“Seems like a good dude. I just wish he was a good pitcher lol,” posted another.
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