Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon already knows his focus for his next rehab outing.
“Now it’s time to flip out of that rehab mode, back into compete mode,” he said Monday.
Taillon’s first rehab start for Triple-A Iowa, on his way back from a strained right calf that has sidelined him for a little over a month, wasn’t pretty results-wise. Taillon surrendered seven runs in three innings Sunday.
His final line, however, was far from the most important measure of his outing.
“I actually felt pretty good,” Taillon said. “Thought the delivery was good, calf was good. Of course, the first pitch of the game, I had to cover first [base,] which was so predictable. So it was good to get that out of the way, backed up some bases.
“Obviously results are nice, you want to get them. But the first one, it’s more important to just check the box, make sure we’re healthy, get back into the flow of it.”
Taillon is scheduled to throw a bullpen in Chicago on Wednesday and then rejoin Iowa to pitch Friday.
“That’s all I know for now,” Taillon said.
Though Taillon said he was “already begging to not have to go back,” advocating to rejoin the major-league team’s playoff push as soon as possible, the team would prefer not to rush him.
The Cubs added a temporary replacement at the trade deadline by acquiring right-hander Michael Soroka from the Nationals. Soroka made his Cubs debut Monday against the Reds, allowing Tyler Stephenson’s solo home run in the second inning before leaving the game with discomfort in his throwing shoulder.
He can move to the bullpen when Taillon returns.
“I don’t help the team if I don’t come back sharp,” Taillon said. “So the key is to tighten things up, get really sharp while I’m down there, and come back when I’m ready. So I’m not going to rush it, but at the same time, I’ll be pestering the coaches and stuff.”
Rogers to face Reds
New Cubs reliever Andrew Kittredge had the quickest turnaround from being traded to facing his former team — taking the plane to Chicago with the Orioles and then going up against them this past weekend.
This week, with the Reds in town, it’s left-hander Taylor Rogers’ turn. He pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.
Rodgers’ trade to the Cubs last week involved a pit stop with the Pirates as part of the Ke’Bryan Hayes deal.
“When I talked to the Pirates, they said, ‘Don’t go anywhere. We’re still fielding calls, and we’ll get back to you,” Rogers said.
So, Rogers started packing, let his brother Tyler’s trade from the Giants to the Mets distract him, and waited to hear where he was headed.
Rogers said with a chuckle that part of his initial excitement came from knowing he wouldn’t have to face the Cubs lineup again this year.
“It seems like every guy is just a hard out,” he said. “Oviously the top of the order, they get their notoriety, as they should. But it seems like the full lineup is just always in it for the entire at-bat.”
He used Carson Kelly’s 10-pitch at-bat in the seventh inning of the Cubs’ 5-3 win Sunday against the Orioles as an example.
“It’s just a pain,” Rogers said.
Crow-Armstrong out of lineup
Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong got a break from the starting lineup Monday with Reds left-hander Nick Lodolo on the mound.
New Cubs utility man Willi Castro filled in, playing a third position in as many games with the team.
“This was a big reason we thought this was a good fit on the team,” manager Craig Counsell said. “… As we looked at the schedule, and looked at the month of August and what’s ahead of us here, not redlining some of these guys was a goal.”
Crow-Armstrong pinch hit for Matt Shaw in the sixth and stayed in the game to play center. He went 0-for-1 and got hit by a pitch in the eighth.
