Jameson Taillon has spent countless hours thinking about this for the past two years.
On Wednesday, he finally got to live it.
Taillon returned to a major league mound for the first time in 23 months, making his first start, before Tommy John’s second surgery in 2019.
“This will sound naughty, but I will never take a day in a major league uniform as such,” Taillon said after the Yankees’ 4-3 loss to the Orioles. “That’s for sure. I was very happy to be there. It felt really good to compete.”
Taillon’s Yankees debut after the January transaction brought him to the Bronx from Pirates. The right-hander lasted only 4 innings / ings innings, but it was effective. He allowed three shots, two runs won with seven shots, two solo runs at home and without walks. Taillon’s fast balloon was constant at 93-95 miles per hour and mixed in a curve and a slider.
“I thought he threw the ball very well,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “It simply came to our notice then. I’m sure there were all kinds of emotions on that mound again. “
Taillon did not show those emotions. He looked comfortable right away, hitting Cedric Mullins in a fast ball of 95 miles per hour to start the game and pulling back the first nine beats he faced. The Orioles broke out in the fourth inning, with a round from home by Mullins and another round by Anthony Santander, which gave Baltimore a 2-1 advantage.
“I thought we made a lot of good ground, we competed well,” Taillon said. “Indeed, two bad pitches sum it up. In general, I thought I made more very good pitches than bad ones. It’s something you can build on and hopefully get the number of pitches going in the right direction after that. ”
The 29-year-old hit the next two beats to get out of the half and Boone left him in fifth place. Boone snatched it after facing three hits in the fifth, pulling out two. Taillon threw 74 pitches in his first outing on May 1, 2019. Boone said he will not let Taillon exceed 75 pitches in his first outing. Boone called it a “solid performance” and a “strong step” for Taillon.
The Yankees had several players – Corey Kluber, Domingo German and Taillon – who were recovering from long absences in the first week. The Yankees took advantage of the early days off to keep Gerrit Cole on schedule, which pushed Taillon’s first start until Wednesday.
For Taillon, it was worth the wait.