Benjamin Brown: Everything you need to know

Brown allowed one hit and issued one walk while striking out seven batters over four scoreless innings in a no-decision against Atlanta on Thursday. Brown logged his second straight outing as a starter after making his first 12 appearances of the campaign out of the bullpen. As in his first start, he pitched four scoreless frames, but this time he was arguably even more impressive with seven punchouts while giving up just one hit (a single) against one of the league's top offenses. Brown tossed 65 pitches Thursday after being limited to 46 in his previous start. The right-hander is in the rotation because of injuries to Matthew Boyd (knee) and Jordan Wicks (elbow), among others, but if he continues to push up his pitch count and perform well, Brown may not leave the rotation even when the team's injured hurlers get healthy.

Brown is slated to start Thursday's game against Atlanta at Truist Park. Brown made his first 12 appearances of the season out of the Chicago bullpen, but he was called upon to start on short notice this past Friday in the wake of Matthew Boyd's (knee) surprise placement on the injured list. Though he wasn't fully stretched out for a starting role and was pitching on three days' rest, Brown delivered a strong outing on the road, holding the Rangers scoreless over four innings while striking out three and permitting no hits and one walk. While the Cubs are still likely to monitor his workload carefully in his second start, Brown should be able to build on the 46 pitches he tossed against Texas and reach the five innings he would need to qualify for a win. Another solid showing in Atlanta would likely help Brown solidify a rotation spot on a longer-term basis while neither Boyd nor Justin Steele (elbow) are close to returning from the IL.

Brown didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Rangers, allowing one walk with three strikeouts across four scoreless and hitless innings. Brown was forced into starting duties Friday after Matthew Boyd (knee) was placed on the injured list this week. After pitching exclusively out of the bullpen prior to this start, Brown was limited to 46 pitches against Texas. He lowered his ERA to an impressive 1.82 with a 27:9 K:BB across 29.2 innings. After making 15 starts last season, it shouldn't take long for Brown to build his arm back up to handle a starter's workload while the Cubs navigate their rotation injuries.