Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon doesn’t like the feeling of showing up to the ballpark knowing the results of the game won’t impact the postseason picture.
“But at the same time, I still got to show up to the park today and put on a Cubs jersey and play in front of some great fans in Chicago,” he said after the Cubs’ 1-0 win against the Reds on Friday.
His efficient showing – four hits and two walks in seven shutout innings, helped the Cubs and Reds fly through the game in an hour and 48 minutes. It was the fastest nine-inning game since June 2, 2010, when Armando Galarraga infamously threw a near-perfect game.
Taillon finished his season with a 3.27 ERA. In a year marked by consistency, he pitched at least six innings and held opponents to two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts.
“I had a little bit of a rough patch there in early-mid August,” he said. “So to be able to bounce back from that and finish strong is a good feeling.”
Second baseman Nico Hoerner, who scored the winning run, said Taillon is one of his favorite pitchers to watch on the mound.
“The information that he has, the commitment to execution, every single pitch really has a purpose,” Hoerner said. “The misses are never by much. There’s always intention behind every single pitch. And just to have that kind of conviction and focus over 100 pitches every five days for an entire season is really impressive.”
Winning run
In a game where the wind – screaming in at 22 mph from right field – was knocking down anything in the air, Hoerner achieved the Cubs’ only extra-base hit on a line drive into left field. Then Pete Crow-Armstrong moved him to third with a sacrifice bunt.
Miguel Amaya came up to the plate with one out.
“To be honest, I wasn’t trying to do much,” he said. “I was trying just to put the ball in play. I knew a ball in the air was coming to the infield. So, I battled that at-bat.”
He hit a two-strike slider into left field.
“Very good send by [third base coach] Willie Harris there,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Because with the wind there, you know the ball is going to end up in a really short place, but the wind actually made it hard for [right fielder Jake] Fraley to make a play.”
Harris was shouting to Hoerner that no matter where the ball ended up, he was tagging up and running home. Hoerner was on the same page.
“Knew it was going to be close play at the plate,” Hoerner said. “But just given the game state and not being a very good run scoring environment, obviously got to be aggressive.”
He scored, crossing home plate in a Superman dive.
Injury updates
Seiya Suzuki’s right ankle was “much improved” Friday, Counsell said, three days after he sprained it rounding the bases. Suzuki hit in the batting cages and ran Friday and was available off the bench but did not play.
“Optimistic he’ll play [Saturday],” Counsell said before the game.
First baseman Michael Busch, who also exited the Cubs’ game against the Phillies on Tuesday with an injury (bruised right triceps), returned to the lineup Friday as the designated hitter.