Pirates' Taillon looks to bounce back against Padres (Aug 06, 2017)
PITTSBURGH -- Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon lost two complete minor league seasons to injury and underwent testicular cancer surgery early in May. By comparison, the 105-mph line drive he took off his head as a rookie last season posed a mere inconvenience. He stayed in the game and pitched great.
Now another obstacle has popped up, less dire to be sure, but still a bother. After looking sharp before and after his surgery and five weeks of recovery and rehab, Taillon was rocked in his last two starts. He is unaccustomed to such doings.
"It's tough. It's the toughest thing I've experienced in my career," he said, speaking strictly of on-field performance. "You say baseball's just a game, but this is our livelihood, and struggling like that at this level is pretty miserable."
Taillon is 6-5 going into Sunday's start against the San Diego Padres in the series decider at PNC Park. But his ERA has swelled from 3.04 to 4.74 after allowing 17 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings.
In his only career start against the Padres, Taillon, 25, pitched eight scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory in 2016. Like that game and other strong outings, his keys are deception and movement.
"For some reason, now I'm not getting it," he said. "Now we'll have to figure it out."
Taillon added, "This is the big leagues. These guys are really good. I think part of the reason we're all here is because we believe we're the best in the world. I would never expect something like this to happen to me. ... I have confidence in myself. But, it's the big leagues."
Taillon's mound opponent, left-hander Clayton Richard (5-12, 5.40 ERA), has had more prolonged problems. The 33-year-old veteran has yielded 23 earned runs over 23 1/3 innings in his last four starts, all losses.
"I think he's run into a few innings where things have kind of kind of skewed the numbers fairly drastically," Padres manager Andy Green said. "We'like to see him get back to being consistent all the way through his outing."
Richard is 2-2 with a 2.86 ERA in nine career starts against the Pirates.
The young Padres are playing to get better. The Pirates have grander designs, lurking within 5 1/2 games of the National League Central-leading Cubs after Saturday's 5-2 loss. Before the game, Pittsburgh re-acquired utility player Sean Rodriguez for minor league infielder Connor Joe, and got right-handed reliever George Kontos from the Giants on waivers.
Popular among fans and teammates, known for his intensity (witness the video of him punching out a Gatorade cooler), Rodriguez joined the Pirates in 2015 and flourished last season, slugging 18 homers with an .859 OPS. He signed a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the Braves.
Rodriguez survived a horrific car crash with his family in January, suffering a damaged left rotator cuff that required surgery. He returned on July 17, well ahead of schedule. He hasn't hit much in 15 games, but the Pirates know what they're getting.
"He brings a unique energy," manager Clint Hurdle said.
