When right-hander Jameson Taillon went on the injured list June 8 with a strained left hamstring, he was leading the major leagues in home runs allowed with 20.
Thanks to being away for six weeks, Taillon isn’t leading the majors anymore. But considering the first inning of his first start back Monday against the Tigers, he could be again soon.
Taillon allowed a three-run homer to Riley Greene and a solo shot to Dillon Dingler — among several hard-hit balls — to put the Cubs in an early hole. The hitters bailed him out and eventually tied it, but the Tigers scored three times in the 10th inning for an 8-6 victory.
“The best time to get a starting pitcher is before they settle into a game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And they did an excellent job of doing that. They threw the first punch against Jameson tonight, but he responded.”
Indeed he did. After the second homer, Taillon retired 12 of the next 13 batters, six on strikeouts. Then he walked two in the fifth and was removed. But his tendency to give up the long ball in bunches remains an issue.
“Just kind of the same it’s been all year, to be honest,” said Taillon, who was on a pitch count and pulled after 75. “Glad I could settle down, at least put us in a position to cover some innings and stay in the game. But going down four in the first obviously isn’t ideal.
“On a day like today with the wind blowing out, solo homers won’t beat you, but a three-run homer to their All-Star in the middle of the order is not great. First inning back in a while, it’d be nice to get your feet wet, but they were obviously ready to swing, so I need to be ready for that, as well.”
The hitters made a game of it in the third. Seiya Suzuki hit a two-run homer, and Michael Busch followed with a solo shot to make it 4-3. After the Tigers tacked on a run in the eighth, Ian Happ tied it with a two-run blast in the bottom of the inning. The Cubs loaded the bases in the ninth against Kenley Jansen, but Alex Bregman struck out swinging.
In the 10th, Cubs reliever Trent Thornton got knocked out after one batter after taking a line drive off his left heel. X-rays were negative, but he was limping badly. That brought in Javier Assad on short notice, and he allowed two-run and one-run singles, sandwiched around a rare fielding error by second baseman Nico Hoerner.
Maton goes back on IL
In addition to activating Taillon from the IL, the Cubs added right-hander Aaron Civale to the 26-man roster, designated left-hander Drew Pomeranz for assignment and put right-hander Phil Maton on the 15-day IL with tendinitis in his right knee.
Maton pitched one inning Sunday against the Twins, allowing one run, two hits and a walk, raising his ERA to 6.18. After signing a two-year, $14.5 million contract to be a key late-inning reliever, Maton is on the IL for the third time this season with the injury.
‘‘We were all optimistic [about] some rest with the All-Star break, and he thought — we thought we were in a pretty good place,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘Symptoms again [Sunday]. Did an MRI, and the news is not great. We’re going to get some more opinions and see what that means. We’re looking at a little bit more extended absence.’’
Pomeranz, 37, made six relief appearances, allowing five earned runs in 5 ⅔ innings.
“When Hoby [Milner] had the appendicitis, we had some runway for [Pomeranz],” Counsell said. “In the end, with a pretty clear [idea] that Hoby is going to be back and where we’re at and with our schedule of a lot of games the next 2 ½ weeks, it didn’t feel like Drew was going to be an answer long-term. And I thought the priority of the innings was pretty important right now.”
Counsell: Palencia’s best to come
Though right-hander Daniel Palencia is still several weeks from returning from a strained flexor, Counsell said he was confident the closer would have time to recapture his old form.
‘‘Daniel’s got a lot of runway to come back,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘I fully expect Daniel to be back pitching for us this year. I think he’s going to miss a length of time where we’re going to have to get him acclimated again, but I think he has plenty of time to get to the best version of himself this year. And I expect him to.
‘‘He missed some time at the end of the season last year, and I thought we got a great version of Daniel.’’
