PITTSBURGH _ Jameson Taillon's start Wednesday night served simultaneously as a coda to his rookie season and a jumping-off point for his next one. The outcome of the game did not matter; the Pirates had been eliminated from playoff contention the night before. What better final exam, then, than pitching late in September against the best team in baseball, playing its regulars, with reigning Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta on the mound?
Taillon put forth another excellent start in his season finale. John Jaso ensured it ended with a victory by hitting for the first cycle in the history of PNC Park. The Pirates ended a four-game losing streak with an 8-4 victory.
In 104 innings spread across 18 starts this season, Taillon had a 3.38 ERA. He walked only 17 batters and struck out 85. In his finale Wednesday, he allowed one hit _ Anthony Rizzo's first-inning solo homer _ in six innings.
Taillon did walk three batters in a start for the first time all season. In fact, he walked three batters in a start for the first time since Aug. 22, 2013. He faced Class AAA Rochester that day.
In a season where not much went right for the Pirates, Taillon's ascension represents a tally in the pro column. The 24-year-old right-hander debuted June 8 against the New York Mets. A week later, against those same Mets, he pitched eight innings of two-hit, shutout baseball to earn both his first victory and a dousing in the Citi Field shower.
The Pirates disabled him because of a shoulder injury as the season progressed. The trip to the DL helped them manage his workload, which needed managing not just because he is a talented young pitcher but because he missed the 2014 and '15 seasons. Tommy John ligament replacement surgery shelved him two years ago. A hernia last summer aborted his comeback.
"Jameson's development and performance at this level is definitely a highlight," manager Clint Hurdle said. "It's an organizational win for everybody, especially the young man. To throw the number of innings he did this year after not throwing for two years. ... Think about the place he's going to be in next year going into spring training versus when he walked into camp this past season."
That place will be squarely in the rotation, along with Gerrit Cole. After that, who knows? Internal options abound: Top prospect Tyler Glasnow, lefty Steven Brault, trade acquisition Drew Hutchison, righties Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams.
In six starts against the Pirates this year, Arrieta has a 4.93 ERA. Jaso saw to inflating that Wednesday. His second-inning single did no harm, but his three-run homer over the Clemente Wall in the fourth inning did. An inning later, Jaso was in the middle of three consecutive doubles, which resulted in three Pirates runs.
In the seventh, with a man on first, Jaso hit a ball that lodged at the base of the center-field wall. He hesitated rounding second, then took third after seeing the off-target throw. He became the 21st Pirate to hit for the cycle and the first since Daryle Ward in 2004.
The game's outcome didn't affect either team, but that didn't stop the gamesmanship. After Rizzo charged the plate as Taillon squared to bunt in the fourth, Hurdle approached home-plate umpire Chris Guccione. After Guccione, the rest of the crew and Cubs manager Joe Maddon convened, Rizzo and second baseman Ben Zobrist had to switch fielding gloves for one plate appearance. Taillon bunted to Rizzo, who threw to Zobrist for the out, but the play went in the books as 4-3.
