Well, cancel that reunion. We should’ve known it was too good to be true.
On the verge of having a full complement of healthy starting pitching, Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon walked off the mound one batter into the second inning, never a good sign.
There was little discussion and no test pitches to see if he was OK. Taillon was done for the night, and almost certainly for the foreseeable future. The Cubs announced an inning later that Taillon had left because of a strained left hamstring. That almost certainly will require a trip to the injured list, and the Cubs can only hope that it won’t be as severe as the one that sidelined Shota Imanaga last season for seven weeks.
Until Sunday night, Taillon, 34, had been one of the lucky ones, at least in terms of remaining upright. He had made all 12 of his scheduled starts, and while he had allowed an alarming number of home runs (20, most in the majors), Taillon was coming off one of his better starts of the season. Five days earlier, he had held the Athletics to two runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two in a 2-1 loss.
In the series opener Friday against the Giants, Edward Cabrera made an inauspicious return from a stint on the injured list because of a blister. Cabrera was pounded for eight runs and gave up three home runs — a grand slam and two two-run homers.
On the flip side, Cabrera averaged 97.3 mph on his four-seam fastball, topping out at 99.5, and got seven swings and misses on his changeup. He refused to use his layoff as an excuse.
“For me, those excuses are not used here,’’ he said. “If you did poorly, just lift your head, prepare yourself, sleep well. And the next day, return with a stronger mind.’’
On Saturday, Matthew Boyd, who has been out since May 4 after surgery to remove torn meniscus from his left knee, made a second rehab start in Iowa. Manager Craig Counsell announced that he would be returning on the team’s trip to Colorado and San Francisco. A return on the weekend against the Giants appears to be the most logical target date.
“It went great,’’ said Boyd, who threw 80 pitches in five innings.
His line was not impressive: He gave up five runs and seven hits, including three solo home runs. But he was not focused on results.
“I did what I wanted to do,’’ he said. “Obviously, you don’t want to give up home runs, but some of that had to do with a smaller ballpark. But you just keep moving forward when that does happen.’’
Cade Horton is lost for the season, and Justin Steele’s return by late summer is etched only in pencil, but the Cubs appeared on the verge of six starters for Counsell to choose from: Ben Brown, Imanaga, Cabrera, Taillon, Boyd and Colin Rea.
Javier Assad also was back and replaced Taillon on Sunday night, but speculation already had begun that Rea might be headed to the bullpen.
Those plans obviously have been put on hold.
“We’ve been thin [in starting pitching],’’ Cubs president Jed Hoyer said Friday, “and we need to get those guys back, for sure.
“That’s not why we’re struggling like this, but certainly those guys provide a level of stability that we need, and hopefully we can get to where we’re kind of turning out good starts.
‘‘That’s how you ultimately get back to winning ways.’’
