Cubs righty Jameson Taillon's struggles continue with shellacking by Dodgers

MESA, Ariz. — Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon's awful spring stayed that way Sunday, with a 10-run shelling from the Dodgers fraught with walks (four), homers (Mookie Betts and Jack Suwinski) and an array of Dodgers hits (eight) over 3 ⅔ innings at Sloan Park.

Taillon is tinkering with minor mechanical tweaks, but with the season starting in less than two weeks, the time to use that as an excuse is running out, and he knows it.

“It’s also on me when you’re in a game to go out and compete,” said Taillon, who has been peppered for 23 hits including eight homers in 9 ⅔ innings of work for a 22.18 ERA in Arizona. “Right now I’m not doing that, I’m kind of all over the place. Again, got to be better.”

It was rough from the get-go, as Taillon walked two and gave up an RBI single to Santiago Espinal and a three-run homer to Suwinski after striking out the game’s first batter, Hyeseong Kim. The Dodgers scored in all four of Taillon’s innings.

Both homers were off his cutter.

“Not a ton of deception there,” said Taillon, who characterized the outing as “a disappointing setback.”.

All signs point to Taillon in the fifth slot of the starting rotation behind Opening Day lefty Matthew Boyd, right-hander Cade Horton, lefty Shota Imanaga and righty Edward Cabrera.

Palencia shines

Closer Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to seal Venezuela’s semifinal win against Japan Saturday night in the WBC. The 26-year-old made six postseason appearances in 2025, and succeeding in the super-charged WBC atmosphere won’t hurt him, either.

“This tournament is for the experience for sure,” Counsell said. “Does it help you in the next experience? I’m not sure. I don’t know if there is a right answer for that. The experience Daniel had [Saturday] night is a great experience. He’s been in some pretty big moments but it’s not the first one.

“If anything it makes him glad he did this.”

Counsell said Palencia, who got Shohei Ohtani to pop out to end the game, “made a big leap” in the offseason.

“No moments happen in the offseason but it’s that time of ‘What do I need to do to get better at’ without that space of performances lining up the next day,” Counsell said. “There was a big jump made in that time.”

Counsell returns

Counsell and his wife drove to the airport in “white knuckle” snow and road conditions to the airport bound for Arizona after watching their daughter help White Fish Bay High School win the Division 2 state basketball championship Saturday night in Green Bay, Wis.

Counsell said he and another team dad coached half the players on the team for five or six years.

“It was a pretty incredible night,” said Counsell, who missed two days of camp. “I was glad I got to do it. It definitely made memories.

“You’re happy because they achieved something that will stay with them for a long time.”

Counsell missed two days in Cubs camp.

Dodgers 14, Cubs 8

Opening day left-hander Matthew Boyd got dinged for six runs, although two were earned, over 3 ⅓ innings in a minor league game. Boyd allowed eight hits and two walks while striking out five, and he picked off a runner. Boyd threw 74 pitches, 48 strikes. No. 5 starter Jameson Taillon was hit even harder in a loss to the Dodgers that dropped the Cubs’ record to 9-13.

• Nico Hoerner hit his second homer, a two-run shot that just cleared the left-center field fence, against Emmet Sheehan. Minor league corner infielder Devin Ortiz hit a grand slam in the ninth.

• Shortstop Dansby Swanson made a leaping catch to stab Alex Call’s liner for an inning-ending out in the second.

• Top shortstop prospect Jefferson Rojas was OK and went through a normal workout, manager Craig Counsell said, after he jumped for a ball and felt something in his side and left Saturday’s game.

• On deck: Cubs at Guardians, 8:05 p.m. Monday, Goodyear, Cade Horton vs. Gavin Williams.