Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon struggles in rehab start with Iowa Cubs

As Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon walked off the mound at Principal Park on Aug. 3, many of the fans at the minor-league park gave the temporary Iowa Cubs hurler a big round of applause.

Taillon’s outing wasn’t the best, but his return to the mound, as part of a rehabilitation assignment in Triple-A, was certainly cause for celebration.

The right-hander gave up seven runs, all earned, on seven hits (including a pair of home runs) in three innings of work in his first rehab start for Iowa against the Indianapolis Indians.

“Obvioulsy I would love to get results,” Taillon said following his outing. “The first one, I’m just glad to get it out of the way.”

Taillon hit two batters, struck out one and threw 64 pitches (42 for strikes) before departing in the fourth inning after giving up three hits to start the frame. He topped out at 92.8 mph with his four-seam fastball.

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It was far from the type of outing that fans had grown accustomed to from the veteran, who has pitched in the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.

Taillon went 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA and 74 strikeouts across 95 1/3 innings of work in 17 starts with Chicago this season. He is expected to play a big role on the team’s pitching staff during the final stretch of the season.

He hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since tossing 4 2/3 innings at Houston on June 29. The 33-year-old has been on the injured list since early July after suffering a right calf strain.

Taillon’s Sunday start was the first outing of his rehab stint with Iowa. So there was some rust to shake off. And it showed throughout the day.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon struggles in rehab start with Iowa Cubs — Jameson Taillon throws a pitch during a rehab outing with the Iowa Cubs on Aug. 3.

“You never want get to hit around, but first and foremost it’s health and then it’s getting back the routine,” Taillon said.

Despite the results, there were reasons for optimism as well. Taillon worked perfect innings in the first and third frames. But he was roughed up in his other two innings.

Indianapolis second baseman Nick Solak led off the top of the second inning by crushing a 90.9 mph four-seam fastball from Taillion for a home run. The damage was far from done.

Taillon then hit a batter, gave up a single and followed that by surrneding a two-run triple and an RBI double. He hit one more batter before finally getting out of the inning.

After a quick third inning, Taillon was hit hard again in the fourth. He started the inning by giving up a home run to Alika Williams. Indianapolis hitters teed off on Taillon for two more singles in the inning.

Taillon was lifted after reaching his pitch count. Both runners came in to score off Iowa reliever Luke Little to close the book on Taillon’s day.

Even though the numbers weren’t great, Taillon considered the day a success. He said he didn’t have a chance to do things he typically does at the big-league level for outings, such as puttiong together a game plan and going over scouting reports of opposing hitters.

“Being healthy and getting a pitch count in, going through the routine and getting the workload in, all that, I thought it was productive,” Taillon said.

Taillon’s work with Iowa isn’t done. He said he plans to make at least one more start with the team during its trip to St. Paul, Minn. He isn’t sure how long the stint with Iowa will last.

“We’ll just see how the next one goes,” he said. “Hopefully it’s better than this.”

Taillon quickly got on the good side of his Triple-A teammates. It’s tradition for major-league players to purchase the postgame spread for the team. But with Iowa’s food already lined up, Taillon opted to go another route, hiring a local coffee truck to park outside the clubhouse before the game.

“Day game,” Taillon said. “I thought coffee was a good idea. Get everyone caffeinated and I love coffee too. That’s something that’s important to me.”

Taillon teamed up with Chicago battery mate Miguel Amaya, who is also on a rehab assignment with Iowa. Amaya went 0-for-2 before coming out of the game.

The reunion was a sign that the two could be headed back to the big leagues in the near future.

“It was cool,” Taillon said. “It was fun to throw to Miggy and good to be back in action.

“I felt healthy. Now it’s just about getting back a routine, into the swing of things. But the calf is good.”

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at [email protected] or 515-284-8468.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Jameson Taillon struggles in rehab start with Iowa Cubs