Chicago Cubs’ Jameson Taillon returns to start but gives up home runs as the Detroit Tigers win in extra innings
· Yahoo Sports
For the first time in nearly seven weeks, Jameson Taillon took the mound feeling good about finally getting another opportunity to help the Chicago Cubs.
Taillon could only watch since going on the injured list June 8 because of his left hamstring strain and as the injuries to the rotation piled up. He wanted to use that recovery time to work on his mechanics and evaluate his pitch sequencing in an effort to eliminate the home runs that too often have derailed his starts this season.
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Within the first five batters in his return Monday against the Detroit Tigers, those long-ball problems again emerged. The Tigers put up a four-spot on Taillon behind Riley Greene’s three-run home run and Dillon Dingler’s solo shot for back-to-back home runs. Taillon settled in to retire 12 of the next 13 batters, and the Cubs’ offense bailed him out behind three home runs, including Ian Happ’s game-tying, two-run home run in the eighth.
But the Cubs wasted a chance for a walk-off win in the bottom of ninth. Seiya Suzuki struck out with runners on second and third against Tigers closer Kenley Jansen. Alex Bregman, facing the bases loaded and ahead 3-0 in the count, struck out on a foul tip off a full-count cutter that would have been ball four to bring in the winning run.
Instead, Jansen forced extra innings with the well-placed pitch, and the Tigers’ three runs in the 10th held up to hand the Cubs an 8-6 loss.
“I mean, I’m glad I could settle down and at least put us in a position to cover some innings and stay in the game,” Taillon said. “But going down four in the first obviously isn’t ideal. … I don’t think it’s just rust. It’d be nice to just chalk it up to that, but homers obviously have been a problem this year.”
The Tigers stacked their lineup with six left-handed hitters against Taillon, who started throwing more changeups than usual to try to combat Detroit’s approach. It was an adjustment Taillon said, “figuring that out earlier would be nice.”
The home runs, though, were killer. Taillon has surrendered multiple home runs in seven of his 14 starts this year, while 22 home runs allowed are tied for fourth-most in MLB despite his last start coming June 7. He’s already only two home runs shy of matching last year’s total in 56 1/3 fewer innings.
Taillon was only going to be given 70-75 pitches to work with Monday, “which honestly makes the homers even more frustrating because I knew I wasn’t going to go six or seven innings so you’re not saving anything.”
“Ideally, you go deep into games and keep runs off the board, and if you’re not doing one, hopefully you’re doing the other — at least going deep if you’re giving up runs, or if you’re not going deep, you’re not giving up runs,” Taillon continued. “So I’ll just keep working behind the scenes and try to figure out the homer thing because it feels like that’s the snake bite for me. I’m giving up a ton of hits in a row. It’s just the untimely homers. So we’ll keep working to figure it out and clean that up, and hopefully I can impact this team down the stretch.”
The Cubs (56-44) cut into the Tigers’ lead with their own back-to-back home runs in the third from Suzuki (two-run) and Michael Busch (solo) to make it a one-run game against starter Jack Flaherty. A rare Nico Hoerner fielding error on a would-be double play ball in the 10th helped the Tigers put three across the plate.
The Cubs got one run back in the bottom half on Pedro Ramírez’s force out. Carson Kelly grounded out with runners on the corners to end the game.
“It was a good baseball game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I mean, we were on the losing end of that one, unfortunately. We’ve won a bunch of those at home this year. … You respect it because (Jansen), the low heartbeat’s not going to get him fired up, and he made some good pitches when it counted.”
Cubs make pitching roster moves
For a Cubs rotation that has been decimated by injuries over the last few weeks, the pitching staff’s slow journey to health took a step forward Monday with the return of Taillon.
The Cubs activated Taillon from the injured list ahead of his outing. They also added right-hander Aaron Civale to the roster before Monday’s series opener after acquiring him from the Athletics following the team designating him for assignment. Civale posted a 2.08 ERA in five games (13 innings) for the Cubs last season.
In corresponding moves, left-hander Drew Pomeranz was designated for assignment and right-hander Phil Maton went on the 15-day IL with right knee tendinitis.
Losing Maton, 33, again to the IL — for the third time this season with the same recurring ailment — is a blow for a bullpen group that, despite his struggles, could use a veteran reliever in the mix. Maton and the Cubs were optimistic that his previous IL stint and the added off days of the All-Star break would be the kind of three-week break his knee needed to hold up for the rest of the season without issues.
However, Maton again experienced symptoms in his right knee during his one-inning appearance Sunday, prompting him to undergo an MRI. Counsell said “the news is not great” with the results of the imaging. Counsell did not want to speculate whether surgery could be a solution to his knee problem, instead wanting to first get other opinions on Maton’s knee. Maton told the Tribune last month he might need to surgically address his knee in the offseason.
“We thought we were in a pretty good place,” Counsell said. “We’re going to get some more opinions and see what that means, but we’re looking at a little bit more of an extended absence here.”
The reunion with Pomeranz didn’t last long or have the same level of success the lefty delivered during his 2025 performance with the Cubs. Pomeranz allowed five runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings (7.94 ERA) while walking four and striking out just one batter during his six appearances this season. The 37-year-old owned a 2.17 ERA in 57 games for the Cubs in 2025.
“Drew and I have had some fun times together, and it didn’t work out this time, but certainly last year and a couple times before that, it really has, and I wish him the best,” Counsell said.