Chicago Cubs' Taillon Dazzles, Strikes Out Nine Royals
A light, steady rain fell throughout the game in Surprise, Arizona on Tuesday night, but Chicago Cubs starter Jameson Taillon was on fire.
Even before the 31-year-old took the mound, the Cubs offense spotted him with two runs, coming on Patrick Wisdom's two-run double.
Once Taillon took the ball, he mowed down the Kansas City Royals lineup, striking out the side in the bottom half of the first inning.
The former Pittsburgh Pirate and New York Yankee attacked hitters all night, pounding the strike zone with his fastball and complementing his primary pitch with excellent offspeed stuff.
“The slider’s just been a lot better in the bullpens lately,” Taillon said after the game. “Today I just kinda had some cues I worked on in between starts and I thought today was a lot better. I’d say consistent shape that way. I knew where to start it and where it’s gonna finish.”
Taillon had six strikeouts through three innings, eight after four, and finished his outing with nine punchouts overall.
In his first game back from the World Baseball Classic, Royals' MJ Melendez launched a two-run opposite field home run in the third inning. Taillon quickly shook it off, came right back, and struck out the next two batters.
“It’s probably not something I’d wanna get beat on in-season to a good hitter, but I threw a really bad one the pitch before and I was stubborn and shook to it,” Taillon said. “Shook off Tucker, so that’s a good way to get our relationship started. I was just stubborn and wanted to like throw a better one and like kinda have that feeling in my head, that I’m not ending my night on a crappy changeup. Then I gave up a homer.”
In his first year of a four-year contract, Taillon finished with a final line of: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 9 K, doubling his strikeout total on the spring.
Aside from Wisdom's two-run single, the Cubs' offense supported their starting pitcher with a solo home run from Christopher Morel deep to left field. The long ball marked Morel's third of the spring.
Off former Cub Aroldis Chapman, Eric Hosmer lined a chopper into left field to plate another run to make it a 4-2 game.
Melendez nearly hit his second two-run home run of the night in Taillon's final inning, but Morel hauled in the catch on the warning track.
After his scheduled start was pushed back because of a rain-shortened game last week, Taillon hadn't pitched in a game since March 9.
Not only was Tuesday his best outing of Spring Training, but it was also his longest as he ramps up his workload for the regular season.
Taillon knows it's that point in the year when he needs to lock it in.
"I didn't love my last outing, and I thought going into today, it was kind of like, 'It's time to get going. Let's execute pitches. Let's work on sequences,'" he said.
The Cubs added two more runs before the game was eventually called due to rain with two outs in the top half of the seventh inning.
The North Siders' exhibition schedule rolls on with a visit to the Athletics on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 3:05 pm CST.
More From SI's Inside The Cubs
- Could Mike Trout Request a Trade to the Chicago Cubs?
- Did David Robertson Net the Cubs a Future Star in Ben Brown?
- Hoerner is the Cubs Shortstop of the Future
- Cubs Could Give Canario a Shot in September
- Could the Cubs Land Trea Turner in the Offseason?
- Chicago Cubs Have a New Top Prospect in Their Rankings
- Is This Top Cubs Prospect Destined for the Mound at Wrigley?
- Steele Offers Glimpse Into Future of Cubs Rotation
- Do the Chicago Cubs Have the National League's Best Bullpen?
- Can Christopher Morel be a Long-Term Solution in Center Field
Make sure to follow Inside the Cubs on Twitter!
