CHICAGO -- Jameson Taillon returned to the mound at Rate Field in the sixth inning on Saturday night, trying to at least get a few more outs for the Cubs’ pitching staff. After his sixth pitch of the frame, the veteran starter let out a frustrated shout as Andrew Benintendi began a trip around the bases.
A source of stability in recent weeks, Taillon’s issues with allowing home runs returned for the North Siders in an 8-3 loss to the White Sox, evening up the Crosstown Series with the South Side finale looming Sunday. The big righty surrendered a career-high five blasts and has given up a Major League-leading 16 on the season.
“Every mistake seems to be a homer,” Taillon said. “I know it’s a part of my game, unfortunately, but it shouldn’t be to this extent.”
White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami went deep twice off Taillon to run the Japanese rookie’s total to 17 on the year. Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery and Benintendi also cleared the fence against the Cubs’ starter, who saw his ERA climb to 4.97 from 3.94 after allowing eight runs in his five-plus innings.
Benintendi ended Taillon’s outing with a leadoff shot off a full-count four-seamer in the sixth.
Taillon entered the night with a 3.41 ERA across his past five turns (29 innings) for the Cubs, helping a rotation and bullpen that have weathered a number of injury setbacks. The right-hander was part of the starting group setting the tone for the Cubs’ climb to the top of the National League Central over the past month.
“When he’s on, he’s punching people out and putting weak contact in our hands,” said Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who had a two-run homer in the ninth. “Today was just a day that he didn’t. I don’t think there’s really anything going on. We trust Jamo, and I think that’s the most important thing.
“And I know that Jamo trusts in his work and preparation. Today’s just a day. They came out swinging.”
It was clear early on that Saturday might not be Taillon’s night.
Sam Antonacci led off with a sharp one-hopper to second baseman Matt Shaw, who could not corral the ball cleanly. Taillon walked Murakami after that single and then left a 1-1 cutter in the heart of the zone to Vargas. The White Sox third baseman launched the pitch out to left-center for a three-run homer that served as foreshadowing for innings ahead.
Murakami went deep for the first time in the third inning, when he attacked a 1-1 changeup that Taillon left elevated, but sent to the outer edge of the zone. The slugger sent it high over left-center, where it dropped just over the glove of Crow-Armstrong as he made a leaping attempt at the wall.
“It just kept going,” said the Cubs' center fielder. “If I were to do it over again, I’d probably try to climb the wall.”
Two batters later, Montgomery ripped a 2-0 cutter that was over the middle down the right-field line, where it stayed just fair and caromed off the windows of the Stadium Club. Murakami’s 17th homer of the season then came in the fifth on an 0-1 four-seamer from Taillon that was elevated and away. Benintendi’s shot was also an elevated fastball in the outer part of the zone.
“He just threw some badly missed-location pitches,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “They put them in the seats. The Vargas ball is probably about as middle as you can get. The Montgomery homer is a cutter just down, middle-in. Just bad spots.”
As Taillon noted, homers will always be an aspect of his game, but the problem has been exaggerated so far this year.
Taillon’s homer-to-fly-ball rate is up to 21.3% (compared to 13.6% in 2025 and 10.2% in ‘24). He has given up an average of 2.84 homers per nine innings (up from 1.7 in ‘25 and 1.1 in ‘24). Taillon gave up 24 homers total in 129 2/3 innings last season and 21 across 165 1/3 innings two years ago.
The veteran believes predictability could be at the heart of the issue.
“I didn’t think some of those pitches were that bad,” Taillon said. “I think it’s kind of a sign that they had a good game plan, and it’s on me now to punch back and adjust. It’s no secret, I pitch lefties away a lot. It just feels like there’s some damage being done on pitches away, where that’s been a strength in the past.
“I probably need to pitch in more, pitch up more, just be a little more unpredictable. Because right now, obviously the game is telling me that it’s not good enough. I need to be better.”