Taillon pitches gem as Cubs hold off Brewers
Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Taillon pitches gem as Cubs hold off Brewers
by - Senior Writer - Sat May 04 22:30:08 GMT-04:00 2024

CHICAGO - At this point in the season, it's all about treading water for the Chicago Cubs (20-14) as they continue to deal with a rough stretch of injuries. Eventually, this team will get healthy, and when that happens, it will be interesting to see what they can do at full strength. Getting Justin Steele back on Monday will help, but this team won't be where it wants to be until Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, and Steele are all on the field together.

Despite all the challenges they have gone through this season, they still entered play on Saturday just two games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers (20-12), who were back in action at Wrigley Field. In desperate need of an offensive outburst, the Cubs got one as they scored six times against Tobias Myers and the Brewers. At one point, the Cubs had a 4-0, but per usual, their bullpen nearly let this one get away as the Cubs held off Milwaukee 6-5 to pull even in the series.

When you talk about a rotational savior, Jameson Taillon is one of those fixtures, as he has been on quite a roll since August of last season. It's incredible what a difference a year can make, as Taillon has been nothing short of amazing since returning from the IL. He gave the Cubs six shutout innings, scattering two hits and striking out seven. His ERA is now at just 1.17 for the season, and apart from Shota Imanaga, he has been the Cubs best starter this season.

Anytime you are pitching as well as Taillon has been, you don't need a ton of offense, and with just one swing, it was the Cubs on top 1-0 as Nico Hoerner led off the bottom of the first with his first homer of the season.

That was only the beginning for the Cubs, as their patient approach saw Myers walk the next three hitters to load the bases with no outs. Michael Busch doubled the lead with an RBI forceout, but the Cubs were unable to do any more damage and wasted a golden opportunity to make an early statement.

Taillon ran into a little bit of trouble in the top half of the second, but he pitched out of trouble and kept the Brewers off the board, which was the theme most of the day. That made things easier for the Cubs and their offense as the Dansby Swanson single to lead off the bottom of the fourth was followed up by another Christopher Morel homer, and just like that, it was 4-0 Chicago.

Homers played a massive role for the Cubs in this one as Patrick Wisdom connected for his first homer at the bottom of the sixth and pushed the Cubs' lead to 5-0. Little did anyone know that homer would prove essential as Taillon closed out his outing strong by retiring five straight and eight of the last nine before handing things off to the bullpen.

This has been an issue for the Cubs all season long, and until they figure something out, it will continue to be an issue. One of the surprise arms out of the pen this season has been Keegan Thompson, who was called on to pitch the seventh. After struggling mightily in 2023, Thompson has bounced back nicely and allowed his first earned runs of the season in his last outing.

Things didn't go well for Thompson in this one, as he single-handedly nearly gave up what was a 5-0 lead. Walking Rhys Hoskins to start the inning wasn't a good sign, nor was allowing an Oliver Dunn triple to put the Brewers on the board. A few pitches later, Blake Perkins got into one, and just like that, it was down to a 5-3 Cubs lead.

Milwaukee was just getting started, as this makes two rough outings in a row from Thompson, and his ERA has now risen four runs in the process. With Jackson Chourio keeping the line moving with another single, it was time for Craig Counsell to return to his pen, where Mark Leiter Jr was summoned. Things didn't start well for him, as Sal Frelick connected for an RBI double to pull the Brewers within 5-4. That run was charged to Thompson, as Leiter recovered nicely to retire the next three, including two on strikeouts.

With this suddenly a ballgame, the Cubs knew they were going to need to push across a few more insurance runs for this game to feel comfortable. That came from Bryan Hudson in the eighth, with Busch starting things again with a leadoff triple. Two batters later, Wisdom came through with arguably the game's biggest hit as his single gave the Cubs a 6-4 lead.

That single would go down as the winning hit, especially when you look at what transpired in the ninth.

Despite Counsell saying the closer situation is closer by committee process, Hector Neris has been his guy. He has now converted four straight saves and five on the season. When it comes to Neris, it may not be pretty, but for the most part, he has found a way to get the job done. Walks have been an issue for him this season, and after walking the leadoff hitter Perkins, Neris was in a tough spot.

Two batters later saw Frelick connect for a single which was followed by the William Contreras single to pull the Brewers within 6-5 and moved the tying run to second. That was as close as things would get as Neris did what he does best by settling in to finish things off as he converted his sixth save in seven chances. The Cubs had eight hits in the game, with Wisdom, Hoerner, and Happ having two.

With his two scoreless innings of relief, Leiter Jr remains one of the best in the game, as his ERA is now 0.59.

The Cubs will look to take the series on Sunday when Javier Assad faces off against Milwaukee Ace Freddie Peralta.

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