CHICAGO — Ben Brown felt almost passive in his last few outings.

Instead of pressuring opposing hitters, the Chicago Cubs right-hander was waiting for something — a hard hit liner for an out, for example — to jump-start him.

“It was almost like I was waiting for something good to happen in the first inning rather than me being on the attack and being the one that did execute those pitches,” Brown said after the Cubs’ 2-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday at Wrigley Field. “That was a theme of all my starts last year — there was always something I [could] tell you every start what was the thing that got me online.

“And that’s not how it’s supposed to be.”

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That led to nibbling on the mound to begin the game. That led to falling behind hitters. That led to hitter’s counts, which then led to big hits, multiple runs and early deficits — all of which are a starting pitcher’s worst enemy. It’s why Cubs manager Craig Counsell opted for an opener — left-hander Drew Pomeranz — to ease Brown into Saturday’s game.

The results were terrific: Brown struck out the first two hitters he faced, and after a two-out walk, he retired the next 12 hitters en route to a six-inning, nine-strikeout performance. He and Pomeranz no-hit the Reds through 5.2 innings.

“Ben pitched great,” Counsell said. “Absolutely his best [outing] of the year. On the attack, aggressive, just in the strike zone a whole bunch, controlling counts a whole bunch. So, it was an outstanding performance.”

It was an intentional focus for the Cubs after Brown’s last outing, in which he allowed eight runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings against these same Reds on May 25. He had a 9.90 ERA in his 10 first innings this season, and he allowed 14 runs over his last two outings against the Reds and Miami Marlins.

The Cubs figured an opener would allow Brown to come in the second inning and be on the attack — which is when he’s at his best. That move paid off mightily.

Brown’s first pitch of the game was a 96.2-mph fastball for a strike to Tyler Stephenson. Brown then struck out the backstop on three pitches and pitched a scoreless frame. All the talk of getting off on the right foot is nice, but seeing results gave Brown a massive psychological boost.

“Definitely starting out the game without a two or four [runs] in front of your stat line helps,” Brown quipped. “It’s pretty hard to pitch like that because you’re just in a hole. So, that was really cool. And I’m really blessed for the teammates and the coaches on the baseball side and off-the-field side. I’m really thankful.”

Brown, though, isn’t kicking up his feet and thinking he’s figured it all out. The nature of this game means you must go out and do it all over again — in his case, in four or five games.

Could the Cubs use an opener again for him? Possibly, but the goal is to get Brown back starting and figuring out his first-inning woes.

“I’m just thankful for the work that we’ve been putting in,” Brown said. “It doesn’t stop. I have to be reminded of one thing today is that I felt really far out of it after these last two outings, and I’m a lot closer to today than I thought I was, and then I’m also a lot closer to those bad outings than I think I am right now.

“So, I really have to just do a good job of staying level-headed just pitch-to-pitch.”