David Peterson gives Chicago Cubs exactly what they need in team debut, an 8-2 win over Milwaukee Brewers
MILWAUKEE — Part of what made David Peterson an ideal fit for the Chicago Cubs, beyond his availability in a rare June trade, was the left-hander’s high ground-ball rate.
For a team whose pitching staff has allowed the most home runs in the majors this year, Peterson’s 51.1% ground-ball percentage that ranks eighth in MLB was something the Cubs needed.
“He throws strikes, keeps ball on the ground, which is something we haven’t done particularly well,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Thursday. “With our defense, he felt like a pitcher that there was upside there. We do field ground balls really well, and he’s really good at that. And hopefully we can help him in that way.”
So, of course, the first pitch Peterson threw in his Cubs debut Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers landed over the center-field wall.
“Obviously not how I wanted to start, but give me another ball and see how it goes,” Peterson said afterward.
Jackson Chourio got around on Peterson’s 92.7 mph sinker for an early Brewers lead. Peterson settled in, though, and went on to allow two runs over 5 2/3 innings in the Cubs’ 8-2 victory.
“I’m happy for David, not an easy thing to do, but it shows a professionalism and some grit to come and do what he did today,” manager Craig Counsell said. “They were aggressive, but he threw a ton of strikes and I think most importantly didn’t back down after a bad first result, so he gave us exactly everything we could have hoped for.”
Peterson limited the Brewers to five hits and didn’t walk a batter while striking out two on 69 pitches. His performance earned him hearty pats on the back from Counsell when he was pulled in the sixth and loud cheers from the strong Cubs contingent among the 40,193 fans at American Family Field.
“It was a lot of fun,” Peterson said. “The guys have welcomed me in with open arms, and it’s just fun to get out there, start and play with a good defense behind me.
“Just stuck to my approach and continue to fill the zone up, try to get ahead of guys, get some of that contact on the ground, some of the weak contact. It happens every now and then, where a guy’s kind of on the first pitch, and a lot of credit to our offense. They kept putting pressure on those guys until they cracked and were able to put up some big numbers there.”
The Cubs defense helped out Peterson in the fifth after Sal Frelick’s RBI single tied the game. Nico Hoerner started a nifty double play on Cooper Pratt’s grounder that pulled him in the hole away from second base, which Dansby Swanson quickly turned to get Pratt at first. Peterson hadn’t received much help from his defense while with the New York Mets this season, getting only three ground-ball double plays in 68 innings pitched.
“I look at it from the other side, played them home and away, and it stands out,” Peterson said. “You look around the infield, you look at guys in the outfield, I don’t think there’s a hole out there in the defense, and so a lot of fun. It gives you a lot of confidence as a ground-ball guy that you can put it on the ground and those guys have your back, and they did today, and they made some really awesome plays.”
The Cubs kept the game plan fairly simple for Peterson in his debut following a whirlwind couple of days after learning he had been traded Wednesday evening. Peterson gave credit to catcher Carson Kelly’s game calling, which required the two getting up to speed quickly without the lefty having thrown a bullpen that would’ve given Kelly an idea in person of how his stuff moves. With less than 48 hours to strategize, Kelly prioritized that time by asking Peterson what is his go-to pitch when he needs a strike and the one he relies on to get him mechanically back on track in an outing if things get out of whack.
“You want him to have confidence in his pitch choices and what he’s trying to execute today, that’s probably the biggest thing that you do,” Counsell said pregame. “The pitcher having conviction in what he’s going to throw is probably the most important thing today. And then it’s just go out and compete and have fun, that’s it.”
Seiya Suzuki erased Chourio’s long ball in the fourth by taking Brewers lefty Kyle Harrison deep to the opposite field for a go-ahead two-run homer, his second of the series.
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A steady approach off Harrison forced the Brewers to go to the bullpen after five innings. Getting a different look versus right-hander Chad Patrick, the Cubs offense gave Peterson a boost in a four-run sixth behind a two-out rally.
Alex Bregman and Michael Busch recorded back-to-back walks, each on full counts, and Nico Hoerner did what he does best when he’s going well with an opposite-field RBI single. When Ian Happ followed, he was aggressive and pulled Patrick’s first pitch into the right-field seats for a three-run home run.
After snapping a four-game losing streak to the Brewers, the Cubs will go with a bullpen game in Sunday’s series finale, starting with lefty Ryan Rolison. For all the pitching injuries they’ve endured in the last week, the Cubs have won five of six games on the trip.
“Obviously feel for all those guys that want to be out there, that want to help,” Happ said. “The offense has done a great job over the last week just putting up a ton of runs, and we’re confident the guys that we have in the bullpen and the starting rotation, they’re going to show up and pitch big innings for us, and so that’s the mentality.”
