Taillon back in happy place

TAMPA — Jameson Taillon was back where he has always felt the best — finally. For the first time since May 11, 2019, after having had his elbow reconstructed for the second time in his career, Taillon was back on the mound Monday, in a competitive game facing major-league hitters.

While he came to the ballpark with some anticipation and a little bit of nerves, when he finally walked out to the mound, he was just comfortable.

“I didn’t have butterflies once I got to the field, but waking up today I definitely had some,” Taillon said. “Once I got going, once I’m on the mound (it’s) kind of like my safe spot where I’m confident, so it felt good.”

He looked good, too.

The new Yankee dispatched the Tigers in order on seven pitches, piggybacking off Gerrit Cole’s rocky first inning. He threw seven pitches, so efficient he had to finish up in the bullpen to get his work in.

“In my head. I was like, ‘Man, I wish I could have gotten a little more in game work there.’ But you know what, for the first one, shorter is better. Quick and clean. Get in, get out. I’m healthy. I feel great,” Taillon said. “Just some of the little things getting back into compete mode, again, see how the delivery carries over. I’ll have to go back and watch the video to see, but it felt really good. It felt clean, I feel healthy. Those are all the big takeaways.”

Staying healthy will be key for the Yankees as well.

MEMORIES

Gary Sanchez’s monster home run in the Yankees’ 5-4 victory over the Tigers brought back some memories for Taillon. He’s been on the opposite side of that ball being crushed.

“He’s got a lot of power. He hit a homer off me in the minor leagues. That was one of the first things I said to him (when I got here.) He had a homer off of me and I have a pretty short memory, but I remember that home run,” Taillon said with a laugh. “He hit it. and I ducked because I thought it was gonna hit me in the head and then it hit the actual center-field batter’s eyes so he’s got crazy power.”

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT

The Yankees’ 2020 first-round draft pick, Austin Wells, made the most of his spring at-bat with a single.

“He can really hit. He’s gonna be a good hitter in this league,” Boone said. “So it’s been fun to watch him in his process.”