Jameson Taillon Throws First Career Complete Game in Pittsburgh Pirates Victory

The Pittsburgh Pirates are now 7-2 on the season

Before the season started I predicted that Jameson Taillon would be a top-10 pitcher in the National League by the end of the season. So far that prediction is looking pretty good.

In Sunday’s 5-0 Pirates victory over the Cincinnati Reds, Taillon went the distance for the Bucs in what was both his first career complete game and first career shutout. On the season, Taillon has allowed just a pair of runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 16 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched.

To say that Taillon was brilliant on Sunday would be putting it lightly. He limited the Reds to just one base hit, which came off the bat of Cincinnati starting pitcher Tommy Mahle, in his 9 shutout frames. Taillon would walk a pair, with those walks not coming until the 8th and 9th innings. And his 9th inning walk came during a Cliff Pennington at-bat that should have ended with Pennington striking out looking.

By going the distance on Sunday, Taillon also took away any need for Clint Hurdle to use his bullpen. This is a good thing because not only has the Pirates middle relief struggled this year, Hurdle has done a very poor job managing it. But you can read more about that here.

Jameson Taillon continues to throw a plus curveball and a power sinker with nasty movement. Taillon’s stuff is currently the best it has ever been, making him primed for a huge season in 2018. Do not be surprised if Taillon is a member of the National League All-Star team in July.

The Pirate offense was powered yet again by the long ball on Sunday. Gregory Polanco hit a 2-run home run and Corey Dickerson hit his first Pirate home run. The Bucs also got RBI singles from Josh Bell and Taillon on Sunday.

With the victory, the Pirates took 3 of 4 in their weekend series with the Reds and improved to 7-2 on the season. Right now, life is good for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans.

Next: Dario Agrazal Unhittable in AA Seaon Debut

This was the second shutout of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates with the other coming in a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers last Sunday. Next up for the Bucs is a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. The first game of that series is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. on Monday afternoon and will feature a pitching matchup of Ivan Nova and Tyler Chatwood.