Gaining trust in late innings Cousins retired one of the three batters he faced Tuesday but recorded his first career hold in the Brewers' 2-1 win over the Cubs. Impact Cousins entered the contest in the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on first base when reliever Brent Suter checked out of the game. The rookie didn't make things easy on himself by walking Willson Contreras and then hitting Javier Baez with a pitch to load the bases, but he was able to extinguish the threat by striking out Ian Happ on four pitches. Though Tuesday's outing wasn't the smoothest for Cousins, manager Craig Counsell's willingness to use him in a big spot speaks to how quickly the 27-year-old has gained the skipper's trust. Cousins was making just his third big-league appearance after he was utterly dominant in his first two outings, striking out nine while allowing no runs, no hits and one walk across four innings.
JUNE 30, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
