PITTSBURGH _ Jameson Taillon is a hard-headed ballplayer, and very, very lucky. Not only did the Pirates rookie right-hander get back on his feet after a line drive caromed off the back of his head Tuesday night, he got back on the mound, too, and kept pitching.
Taillon tossed six innings of one-run baseball, and Josh Harrison scampered around the bases for a walk-off triple in the ninth inning of a 3-2 win against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. Harrison tripled off right-hander Tyler Thornburg leading off the ninth, slid safely into third base and was granted home plate when the second baseman's throw went out of play.
Harrison's dramatic moment came after closer Mark Melancon blew a save for the second game in a row. Down to the last strike in the ninth, the Brewers' Hernan Perez _ the same man who had singled off Taillon's head earlier in the game _ hit an RBI single up the middle to tie the game.
The Pirates (48-45) collected just five hits but also walked four times. They managed two fewer hit but one more run than the Brewers (39-52). The teams will face each other 15 more times in the second half. The Pirates have won three of the teams' four meetings so far this season.
In Taillon's first start since shoulder fatigue and the club's desire to limit his workload sent him to the disabled list earlier this month, Taillon allowed five hits, walked none and struck out three.
Brewers right-hander Junior Guerra, the staff's best starter, allowed three hits and two runs in six innings. He walked three and struck out six.
Guerra entered the game with a 3.06 ERA but with questionable command, so the Pirates waited him out early. Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte sandwiched walks around an Andrew McCutchen single in the first, and David Freese's bloop single opened the scoring. Francisco Cervelli, in his first at-bat back from the disabled list, lifted a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 lead.
Cervelli spent more than a month on the disabled list after breaking the hamate bone in his left hand. His departure sent the Pirates' catching situation into a tailspin for a time, as backup options Chris Stewart, Erik Kratz and Eric Fryer were left to nurse along inexperienced pitchers.
Saddled with a two-run cushion, Taillon settled in against the bottom of the Brewers order in the second. With one out, Perez cracked a 94-mph fastball back up the middle. The baseball came off the bat at 105 mph, according to Statcast, and deflected off the back of Taillon's head and into left field. Taillon fell to the dirt and lay flat on his back in front of the mound.
Athletic trainers tended to Taillon, and within two minutes he was back on his feet asking for his glove. The crowd of 27,106 stood and applauded as Taillon took his warm-up tosses. The next batter grounded a ball right back up the middle, past Taillon, for a fielder's choice.
The Brewers pushed across a run in the fourth after Chris Carter doubled to left, moved to third on a grounder and scored on a second grounder. Taillon would bend no further. After Carter's double, he sent down the last nine batter's he faced before he was lifted after six innings.
Manager Clint Hurdle turned to a freshly trimmed bullpen to preserve the 2-1 lead. The Pirates relievers went to work in an 18-inning win Sunday, and then all eight shaved their heads.
Right-hander Neftali Feliz struck out two in a scoreless seventh, and left-hander Tony Watson got a key double play in the eighth. Melancon started the ninth with a walk and a single, then struck out the next two batters. One strike from the save, Melancon left a cutter over the plate, and Perez shot a game-tying single to center field.
Jordy Mercer had an infield single and a triple. He was stranded at third in the seventh when pinch-hitter Matt Joyce grounded out and John Jaso and Polanco struck out swinging.
