Cubs activate Taillon and place Maton back on the IL with right knee tendinitis

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs activated right-hander Jameson Taillon on Monday and placed reliever Phil Maton back on the 15-day injured list with right knee tendinitis.

Taillon pitched 4 1/3 innings of four-run ball in an 8-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers in 10 innings during the opener of a three-game series. He had been sidelined by a left hamstring strain.

The 34-year-old Taillon also struck out six and walked two in his first big league start since June 7. He threw 46 of his 75 pitches for strikes.

Trent Thornton came in to pitch the 10th for Chicago, but the right-hander was helped off the field after he was struck on his lower left leg by Riley Greene’s 108.9 mph comebacker.

“Trent's got a left heel contusion,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The X-rays were negative. I guess the heel's a little tricky on X-rays, so we'll have to see how he's doing tomorrow. He's limping pretty badly right now.”

Chicago also added Aaron Civale to its 26-man roster two days after it acquired the right-hander in a trade with the Athletics. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz was designated for assignment.

The 33-year-old Maton is 0-1 with a 6.18 ERA in 31 appearances during his first season after signing a $14.5 million, two-year contract with the Cubs in free agency. It's his third IL stint this year for right knee tendinitis.

Maton worked the eighth inning in Sunday's 10-1 victory over Minnesota, allowing one run and two hits.

“Symptoms again yesterday, did an MRI because of the symptoms,” Counsell said before the loss to the Tigers. “And the news is not, it’s not great. We're going to get some more opinions and see what that means. But we’re looking at a little bit more extended absence here.”

Chicago acquired Civale and cash from the A's for minor league right-hander Aiden Moffett on Saturday. Civale also pitched for the Cubs last year, going 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in five appearances.

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