David Peterson earned a victory in his Chicago Cubs debut on Saturday, June 27, 2026, helping defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-2 at American Family Field.
The left-hander, recently acquired from the New York Mets, allowed two runs across 5 2/3 innings as Chicago overcame pitching injuries to secure the win.
Peterson threw 69 pitches, allowing five hits, striking out two, and walking none.
Despite a leadoff home run by Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio, Peterson settled down until Sal Frelick tied the game with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
Chicago's offense responded in the sixth with a go-ahead RBI single from Nico Hoerner and a three-run home run by Ian Happ, his 17th of the season.
Seiya Suzuki also contributed a two-run homer in the fourth inning, marking his second consecutive game with a home run.
The Cubs acquired Peterson after starting pitchers Edward Cabrera and Ben Brown were placed on the injured list.
Reliever Phil Maton was also sidelined with right knee tendinitis.
According to advanced metrics highlighted by Bleed Cubbie Blue, Peterson entered the game with a 6.09 ERA but possessed a 3.53 Field Independent Pitching (FIP) rating as a starter this season, signaling potential for improvement behind an elite Cubs infield defense.
Peterson Adjusts to New Team
Peterson explained the logistical challenges of his sudden trade from New York.
"A lot of: This is going to Chicago, this is going home.
But yeah, I think it was just getting some of the off-field stuff at home with my family taken care of and situated before we left," said Peterson.
The veteran pitcher expressed readiness for the transition to his new environment.
"New team, new uniform," said Peterson.
He acknowledged having some standard anxiety before taking the mound for Chicago.
"I'll have a little bit (of nerves).
But at the same time I've pitched plenty in this ballpark and I'm ready to get going," said Peterson.
Peterson also shared his enthusiasm for playing in front of Chicago's highly-rated defenders.
"You look at the guys around the infield and the defense as a whole, it's hard not to be excited about that group.
You see them statistically at the top of every list.
So I'm excited to have those guys behind me on the field and to play with them," said Peterson.
Reflecting on his recent performance slumps with the Mets, Peterson remained confident.
"I went through some things early in the year that we needed to clean up and felt a lot better about where we're at now," said Peterson.
He expressed optimism that his performance would mirror his past successful seasons.
"(I) feel like myself back in '24, '25. I'm excited for the opportunity to start (Saturday) and get the routine back to some consistency.
I feel good with where I'm at," said Peterson.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell praised Peterson's long-standing consistency prior to the trade.
"Not many guys spend 10 years with an organization," said Counsell.
Counsell emphasized that a new environment could help revitalize the left-handed starter.
"That's kind of a nod to how successful David has been.
When things aren't going well, sometimes just a fresh start is something that can reenergize you, refocus you, hopefully get you to a good place, and hopefully we can provide that," said Counsell.
Counsell also commented on the status of injured reliever Phil Maton.
"After the first time we gave him some time off, I think we made some progress," said Counsell.
He noted that the team needs to prioritize Maton's long-term health moving forward.
"But we're kind of getting back into the same territory again and we really need Phil to get going here.
I think we're getting closer, but we're also taking some steps back with the health.
So if we can maybe use this time and possibly the All-Star break to get his health as good as we can get it for the second half, I think that's important, because we need a good version of Phil Maton," said Counsell.
Discussing the injury suffered by Ben Brown, Counsell spoke about the recurring nature of the problem.
"It's a very similar injury to '24," said Counsell.
Brown was diagnosed with a recurring neck strain that forced him to miss significant time.
