PITTSBURGH _ The consistency continued for Jameson Taillon.
In his previous five starts, he had pitched six innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs each time. Thursday, he upped the ante.
Taillon's eight scoreless innings led the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-0 victory against the San Diego Padres in the final game of a six-game homestand, during which the Pirates went 4-2.
Taillon (3-2) struck out four batters and walked two. He allowed only three hits and retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced. The Padres didn't put a runner in scoring position against him after the third inning.
David Freese had two hits and drove in two runs. Josh Harrison went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI, and Gregory Polanco drove in a run with a single.
The Pirates' most recent turn through the rotation, after trading Francisco Liriano and Jon Niese and sending Jeff Locke to the bullpen, turned out well. The current rotation _ Taillon, Gerrit Cole, Ivan Nova, Ryan Vogelsong and Chad Kuhl _ pitched deep and effectively, with Cole's 5 2/3-inning, four-run outing against the Cincinnati Reds counting as the worst outing of the bunch.
After four consecutive series against sub-.500 teams, the Pirates head to the West Coast for seven games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
