Jameson Taillon stops the bleeding for Yanks in much-needed 9-4 win over Mariners
SEATTLE — Jameson Taillon gave the Yankees a much needed breather and himself a boost of confidence. The right-hander gave the Bombers seven solid innings as they beat the Mariners 9-4 at T-Mobile Park Monday night, their first win since the trade deadline.
The win snapped a season-high five-game losing streak for the Yankees (71-39) and rebuilt a little lead in the race for the best record in the American League (one game) over the Astros. They were also able to regain their double-digit lead in the American League East (10.5) over the Blue Jays.
“Every win is important. I mean, obviously, going through a little bit of a rut, as we did, I mean, it was big,” Josh Donaldson said. “Taillon going seven for us today was huge, battling out of an early jam. From the offensive standpoint, I felt like we just kept going, having good at-bats and tacking on runs and that was important.”
Josh Donaldson singled in the first to drive in two runs, homered in the third, doubled to lead off the fifth inning and again in the ninth for his fourth hit of the night. Andrew Benintendi had a pair of run-scoring doubles and three RBI. Gleyber Torres singled and doubled. Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading 44th home run, a 423-foot shot to dead center in the ninth. The Yankees’ slugger is on pace to hit 65 homers this season, which would smash the American League record set by Roger Maris in 1961.
It wasn’t all good news for the Yankees Monday, however. Matt Carpenter left the game with a fractured left foot, the team announced.
Taillon allowed three earned runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out six. Taillon got 11 swings and misses, four on his curveball and three each on his fastball and cutter.
It was an encouraging start for Taillon, who admitted he had been “chasing it” the last month or so, but it was also encouraging for the Yankees.
“There’s something to be said when you’re on the attack, even when you miss a little bit,” Taillon said. “You get away with a little bit.”
Getting Taillon on track would be huge for the Yankees pitching.
With a team ERA of 3.33 going into Monday night’s game, the Bombers are still in the top three in pitching. Over the last month, however, the Yankees staff has been hit. Luis Severino suffered a strained lat muscle, though he is expected to return next month, and Michael King has an elbow fracture that will shut him down for the rest of the year.
But over the Yankees previous 25 games, their pitching has been the fifth worst in the majors with a 4.63 ERA, allowing 33 home runs (fourth most in the big leagues) over the last 30 days. New acquisition Frankie Montas, who was the rotation upgrade for Montgomery at the trade deadline, did not help the cause in his debut on Sunday, giving up a season-high six earned runs in three innings of work.
Taillon had contributed to that slide. Since the calendar turned to July, Taillon had allowed 19 earned runs over his last 29.1 innings pitched (5.76 ERA) going into Monday night’s start.
Taillon, handed a two-run lead in the first, gave back one on a two-out homer to Mitch Haniger. After the Bombers scored two more in the third, he gave back another after a bases-loaded, 11-pitch battle with J.P. Crawford. Taillon walked him to bring in the run. He got out of the inning by coaxing a ground out to first base without giving up more. He gave up a solo shot to Cal Raleigh in the seventh.
Getting back on track for Taillon means getting his fastball command back under control and believing he can beat hitters with it.
“I think the fastball the other day was good, but when he’s going up and in, it’s got to be in the strike zone, especially against Seattle. It’s just they don’t swing a lot,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said. “So don’t don’t put yourself in bad counts, nibbling with a fastball.”
It was a boost of confidence for Taillon and the Yankees, after manager Aaron Boone had talked to them before the game to remind them that they have the people in place to go out and win a championship.
“It was a nice little get-together pregame. We went out there with a ton of energy,” Taillon said of the meeting. “We’re aware that everyone’s going to try to give us their best shot every night. We have to try to match that. I thought we did a good job of that tonight for nine innings. But yeah, I mean, you don’t want to overthink it and start saying we’re struggling or anything but we’re aware that we haven’t been playing our best baseball and we needed to go out there and stop that.”
()