WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon knows how it sounded when he said he was working on a changeup in spring training.
“I’m sure you guys hear pitchers come into spring and always say, ‘I’m working on a changeup.’” he said after the Cubs’ 10-2 win Wednesday against the A’s. “But this year was the first year in a while where I actually felt like I was leaving spring training with a changeup that could be real.”
On Taillon’s way to allowing just two runs in six innings, he threw that pitch seven times to left-handed batters, generating four whiffs.
“When I sync up and throw the changeup right, it’s a pitch that actually is a real weapon,” Taillon said. “And now it’s just about the consistency of it and figuring out who to throw it to, when to throw it. But normally I just throw the changeup in my back pocket and don’t really bring it out.”
In his first start, Taillon was having issues landing his curveball against lefties, so they could expect either a fastball or cutter, pitches with higher velocity. The changeup is another offspeed pitch he can mix in with the curve like he did Wednesday, or use as a Plan B when he doesn’t have a good feel for the curve.
“Huge for lefties,” Taillon said. “It’s no secret other teams stack lineups with lefties against me. And now it’s on me to find a way to punch back and show that I can get lefties out and limit slug and all of that. So the changeup for me could be a really good pitch, pitching in more to lefties instead of just everything away could be really big. Some days I’m going to lay in my cutter really well, and that’s going to be the featured pitch. It’s just having the ability to not be so predictable.”
After a rough first start, when Taillon gave up six runs to the Diamondbacks in 4 ⅓ innings, he worked with the Cubs’ pitching coaches to re-sync his delivery. The 19 whiffs he generated Wednesday, according to Statcast, were promising.
“I’m not a guy who goes out there and chases whiffs,” Taillon said. “But when I’m getting early-count swing-and-miss or foul balls on my fastball early counts, that’s a good sign. Because last start, I threw some fastballs in decent areas that got hit really hard. So, that’s telling me I’m losing some deception, my fastball metrics aren’t where they need to be. So when I’m getting those reactions from hitters, it tells me that everything’s in a good spot.”
Offensive explosion
The Cubs’ win Wednesday completed a sweep in which the Cubs outscored the A’s 35-9. It was the A’s first series in their new temporary home, Sutter Health Park, which is expected to play hitter-friendly. The series set a new record for the most runs given up by the A’s in their first three home games of a season.
“It was a good road trip,” manager Craig Counsell said, including a series split in Arizona. “Very good road trip. And we did a nice job offensively. I feel like everybody’s done something good offensively, which is a good spot to be in through the first nine games – seven games [stateside]. So we take it back home, with a nice feeling and a good flight.”
Coming home
The Cubs will celebrate opening day for the fourth and final time this season when they play their first game at Wrigley Field on Friday. Lefty Shota Imanaga is set to take the mound in the home opener against the Padres.