Cubs starter Jameson Taillon saw what everybody else did Sunday at Wrigley Field: the flags snapping straight out.
‘‘It’s not ideal for what I do and my profile,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘A lot of fly balls, but it’s part of playing here. I’ve [benefitted] plenty of days when the wind blows in.’’
Taillon gave up three home runs against the Pirates, including a drive to Oneil Cruz to begin the game. The most damaging was the grand slam by Brandon Lowe in the second inning.
And what bugged Taillon about the grand slam was putting runners on base and falling behind hitters to get into a bad spot, not the pitch itself.
‘‘The homer was kind of, ‘Whatever,’ ’’ he said. ‘‘I understand on a day like today it can happen, but getting us in that situation with the bases loaded was not ideal.’’
Lowe, who added another homer in the fifth, hit the grand slam with a 97.3 mph exit velocity and 39-degree launch angle. On many days, especially early in the season, that’s a fly ball to right. But Sunday was unseasonably warm, and the wind wasn’t a pitcher’s friend.
Somewhat counterintuitively, Taillon said it’s more important to attack the zone in such conditions.
‘‘The lesson to be learned is, no matter what the wind is doing, it’s on me to be aggressive and still fill up the zone and not let guys get on and get in bad counts,’’ he said.
After giving up five runs in the first two innings, Taillon bore down and gave up one in his last four. His line won’t help his final statistics, but he gave the Cubs the length they needed.
‘‘After [the second] inning, it can’t really get any worse,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘There’s almost a little bit of weird freedom in that: ‘I’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s be super-aggressive here and see what we can make out of this day.’ ’’
Harvey hurt
When the Cubs signed reliever Hunter Harvey to a one-year, $6 million contract, they knew his injury history.
Last season with the Royals, Harvey pitched in only 12 games and twice was put on the injured list, adding to his lengthy résumé of health problems.
It didn’t take long for another issue to crop up this season, adding another challenge to the bullpen after Phil Maton went on the IL on Friday.
Harvey was put on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Thursday, with inflammation in his right triceps. He pitched April 3 at Cleveland, then was rested until Wednesday at Tampa Bay but still wasn’t recovering, leading to the IL move.
‘‘We’re trying to get stuff before it gets too bad here,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘Hopefully, it’s just a little bit of soreness in the triceps and we can get rid of it in two or three weeks and move on.’’
Counsell said Harvey’s past was a factor in the Cubs being conservative with his health. The way Harvey was recovering, Counsell said, sent up red flags that the Cubs needed to be careful.
For now, Harvey isn’t scheduled to have any tests or imaging on his arm.
To replace Harvey on the roster, the Cubs selected the contract of left-hander Charlie Barnes from Triple-A Iowa. Barnes was 3-0 with a 2.38 ERA in three games with Iowa.
ON DECK
CUBS AT PHILLIES
Monday: Javier Assad (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Cristopher Sanchez (1-1, 1.65), 5:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM, 104.3-FM.
Tuesday: Colin Rea (1-0, 3.18) vs. Aaron Nola (1-1, 3.63 ERA), 5:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM, 104.3-FM.
Wednesday: Shota Imanaga (0-1, 2.81) vs. Jesus Luzardo (1-2, 6.23), 5:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM, 104.3-FM.