Healthy Taillon finds himself in good place
Now a Yankee, excited to pitch against Pirates
BRADENTON, Fla. — One more fastball, Jameson Taillon shouted as he completed his warm-up tosses in the visitors bullpen Saturday afternoon at LECOM Park. It would be a strange day for Taillon in an extremely familiar spot, the right-hander’s first start againsthis former team.
A few seconds after the ball popped catcher Kyle Higashioka’s mitt, Taillon received some good-luck elbow bumps from the Yankees relievers and started the slow walk to the dugout — this time from the other side of the ballpark.
Taillon was nervous, sure. But he also had something positive that he wanted to prove to his formeremployer.
“I was excited in a good way to pitch against these guys,” Taillon said. “I wanted to show them that the work, energy and time they invested in me has paid off and I’m healthy and ready to contribute to this team.”
It certainly looks like it after some quality work for Taillon in the Pirates’ 3-2 victory, although this day will hardly be remembered for that. More than anything, this was about Taillon reliving a part of his past and taking advantage of a laid-back setting.
Taillon estimated that he spent six instructional leagues and 10 spring trainings in Bradenton, where he also lived while rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery. For someone with his injury history, he spent entirely too much time at Pirate City while his teammates and friends were off doingsomething else.
“I didn’t have to pull up Google maps to get here,” Taillon joked.
At the same time, there are definitely no negative feelings at play. If anything, it’s a billion miles in the opposite direction, with Taillon holding those he encountered at LECOM Park in extremely high regard, from security guards to clubhouse managers and everyonein between.
The feeling, of course, is mutual.
“We’ve talked about numerous times caring for people and the person,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I don’t think there are many better people than Jamo. Happy to see him. A little bit of mixed feelings, but I’m happy for him. And I’m happy for us with how everything has turned out so far.”
Added Gregory Polanco, “I’m happy to see him healthy. Me and him, we’ve been through some tough injuries. It’s good to see him healthy. I wish him the best, always.He’s my brother.”
Ironically, Taillon was actually supposed to be the second former Pirates player to pitch in this game. Gerrit Cole was shifted to live batting practice when the threatof rain grew.
The 1-2 punch of Cole and Taillon in New York already has created a special bond, the two pitchers and friends sitting side-by-side in the clubhouse and swapping recipes, bourbon recommendations and pitching tips.
“When you’re in the same room with a guy like that, it makes everyone better,” Taillon said. “We’ve already had a lot of great talks. I’m really looking forward to, once spring training gets going, maybe we can be in the dugout together and we can have those in-game adjustments and in-game talks. He brings lots to the table.”
The shortened arm action Taillon has spent so much time crafting was easy to spot. Ditto for his more compact throwing motion and how he’s getting into his legs more. Taillon is no longer a blur of limbs with his arm draggingbehind.
Perhaps intentionally, Taillon also has been pitching a little differently. He’s up in the zone more and using his four-seamer inside against righties, something he didn’t do much in Pittsburgh.
“That’s really exciting because that’s the pitch in the past that I never put a ton of emphasis on,” Taillon said of firing four-seamers in. “So if I had that part of the zone open up to me for righties, that’s really exciting. I feel like I can get away with a little more in the zone.”
Taillon worked two innings and allowed two singles and a walk while striking out four. The first inning was extremely smooth, with the right-hander needing just 12 pitches to set the Piratesdown in order.
The first batter of the game, Dustin Fowler, struck out swinging on a 92 mph fastball. Taillon followed by winning a seven-pitch battle with Bryan Reynolds, getting looking on a 93 mph heater. Colin Moran lined the first pitch he saw to left.
Taillon gave up back-toback singles to start the second,the first on a well-placed curveball that Todd Frazier dumped into left and the second coming when Polanco drove a low fastball into center field.
After Erik Gonzalez popped out in foul territory and Anthony Alford struck out swinging, Taillon walked Michael Perez on four pitches, loading the bases with two outs. Kevin Kramer made Taillon work, extending the at-bat to seven pitches after falling in an 0-2 hole, but Taillon won it with another strong fastball.
Taillon threw 39 pitches in his two innings, 24 for strikes. He fired first-pitch strikes to four of the nine batters he faced and was effective sequencing fastballs with his slider and curveball.
It was obvious that Taillon was revved up, too, when he pumped an 0-2 fastball to Kramer and grunted rather loudlyas he did it.
As Kramer swung through Taillon’s final offering, someone in the Pirates dugout screamed, catching the pitcher’s attention. Normally pretty stoic on the mound,Taillon tried his best to block it out but failed, his smile noticeable as he began to walk back to the Yankees dugout.
Before Taillon got terribly far, Todd Frazier approached him with a message, one that speaks to how Taillon has grown up in this very ballpark and how he’s also moving on to bigger and better things, to a new team with championship dreams.
“I tipped my cap to them, and Todd Frazier was walking by and was like, ‘I’ll take care of your guys over here.’ That was really cool,” Taillon said.
“Obviously in that dugout, I’ve got a lot of great friends. … It was a cool feeling for me to get to show that I’m healthy and I’m back on the field. I hope it was a cool moment to get to watch me out there, too.”