CHICAGO -- The sweeper that Jameson Taillon fired to A’s slugger Nick Kurtz in the third inning hung up in the zone and proved costly Tuesday night. Kurtz sent the pitch rocketing on a low line over left-center field, where it landed in the Wrigley Field bleachers for a solo homer.
It was both a continuation of Taillon’s recent troubles with allowing home runs, but also just one of a few mistakes made by the veteran Cubs starter in his latest effort. File it under both things can be true. Taillon was solid, but another cold night by Chicago’s lineup magnified the righty’s misfires in a 2-1 loss.
The Cubs managed just one run against A’s rookie lefty Gage Jump, who logged seven innings in his second career start. The 23-year-old Jump – ranked No. 40 on Pipeline’s Top 100 list – yielded one run in the first inning and locked in from there, allowing no hits to the final 17 batters he faced.
Taillon, meanwhile, watched Kurtz’s solo shot in the third pull the game into a 1-1 deadlock, marking the Major League-leading 20th homer allowed by the starter this season. In the fourth, the A’s collected three more hits, including an RBI single by Zack Gelof that eluded the glove of a leaping second baseman Nico Hoerner.
Taillon gave the North Siders 6 1/3 innings, which was his first quality start since April 29. In five outings in May, the right-hander posted a 6.66 ERA with 10 homers yielded in 25 2/3 innings. Eight of those blasts came in his three most recent turns, during which Taillon gave up 16 earned runs in 14 2/3 frames (9.82 ERA).