Right-hander Jameson Taillon made his New York Yankees debut on Wednesday night, throwing 4 ⅔ innings against the Baltimore Orioles in his first start since May 1, 2019. Taillon had spent most of the past two years recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Taillon's final line saw him permit two runs on three hits and no walks. Both of the runs were surrendered on solo homers, with those coming off the bats of Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins. Taillon also punched out seven batters and threw 47 strikes on 74 pitches, good for a 63.5 strike percentage. He faced 17 batters before being replaced by reliever Nick Nelson.
First game in 707 days.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 8, 2021
Welcome back, @JTaillon50 💪 pic.twitter.com/ASnnMSgVB7
Taillon's fastball averaged 93.3 mph, or about a tick slower than the 94.7 mph mark he clocked in at in 2019. He leaned on a pair of secondary offerings in addition to the heater, throwing his slider 23 times and his curveball 17 times. Overall, he generated 11 whiffs on 35 swings, with five of those coming against the fastball. He showed off a noticeably shorter arm action than the one he used during his most recent big-league outing.
Taillon entered the night with 82 career big-league starts to his name. In those, he had compiled a 3.67 ERA (112 ERA+) and a 3.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His best season occurred in 2018, when he posted a 3.20 ERA and he recorded nearly four strikeouts per walk issued. That season remains the only in which he's thrown more than 150 innings.
The Yankees acquired Taillon from the Pittsburgh Pirates in late January as part of a five-player deal that sent out right-handed pitchers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, as well as infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith-Njigba. Taillon, it should be noted, is scheduled to qualify for free agency after the 2022 season.
As of press time, the Yankees were trailing the Orioles 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth.
