Taillon takes it to his former teammates as Cubs blank Yanks
It's been an awfully rough season for Jameson Taillon.
A 2-6 record after 14 starts. A 6.93 ERA. A 1.52 WHIP.
Not exactly what the 31-year-old expected after signing a four-year deal with the Cubs in the off-season.
Taillon's 15th start, which came against his former team in the Yankees on Friday, was one of those where you're wondering which way it's going to go: Does he implode trying to overdo it? Or is he inspired to the point where he puts together his best performance of the year?
It turned out to be the latter as Taillon threw 8 sparkling shutout innings in a 3-0 victory at Yankee Stadium. Taillon allowed just 1 hit - a one-out single in the first inning by Gleyber Torres - and walked two in his longest outing since June 2, 2022.
"Phenomenal," manager David Ross told reporters. "Special outing."
The Cubs' runs came on a towering Cody Bellinger home run in the third, an RBI single by Nico Hoerner in the fifth and an RBI double by Patrick Wisdom in the seventh.
Adbert Alzolay recorded his sixth save, and the Cubs (41-46) won for the first time ever at Yankee Stadium.
Taillon was sharp all night. After getting slugger Giancarlo Stanton to strike out on a 95-mph fastball to end the first inning, Taillon retired the Yankees in order in four of the next five innings. He threw 102 pitches, the second time he's gone over 100 this season.
"I feel like I was on the attack (and) had a good pitch mix going," said Taillon, whose ERA dropped to 6.15. "I felt like for once I had a lot of hard-hit balls right at people."
Taillon only had two decent outings before Saturday: On April 15 when he shut out the Dodgers for 5 innings, and on June 2 when he gave up 1 run on 3 hits in 5⅔ innings at San Diego.
Other than that he's been a mess, and the Cubs were 2-12 when he started.
"I don't know if Cubs fans truly know exactly what I'm about yet when I'm good or when I'm right," Taillon said. "I've been putting in the work. It's nice to see it come to fruition. Hopefully we can keep knocking em out.
"This isn't something to jump for joy about. It's definitely a nice night. But I'll take my notes, remember what I did well tonight and just carry that over to the second half."
Bellinger now has 9 home runs on the season, and he's 21-for-42 with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs in his last 10 games. He led off the third by belting a 95-mph fastball from Carlos Rodon 410 feet into the right-field stands.
"Just sticking to my plan everyday," said Bellinger, who is riding a 13-game hitting streak. "Understanding every day is a new day."
The Yankees (48-41) have scored 4 runs during their current three-game losing streak.
Rodon made his season debut for New York. The former White Sox lefty gave up 2 runs on 4 hits in 5⅓ innings. Rodon, who signed a six-year, $162 million deal in the off-season, had been out with a left elbow strain and back stiffness.
• Cubs SS Dansby Swanson, who suffered a heel contusion trying to beat out a double play in Milwaukee on Wednesday, will not play in next week's All Star Game. He was not in the lineup against the Yankees on Friday. Nico Hoerner played shortstop and Christopher Morel was at second base.