Texas native Taillon to face fave childhood team in Game 1

October 19th, 2022

grew up an avid Astros fan as a kid in The Woodlands, Texas, a suburb of Houston. How fitting, then, that he'll be getting the ball on Wednesday night as a member of the Yankees, facing off against his favorite team in Game 1 of the ALCS.

The right-hander had been scheduled to start Game 5 of the AL Division Series against the Guardians on Monday, but after a postponement, manager Aaron Boone opted to start Nestor Cortes instead.

The 30-year-old Taillon threw 18 pitches during a Game 2 relief appearance against Cleveland on Friday. Wednesday's outing will be the first playoff start of his career.

Taillon posted a 14-5 record over 32 starts for the Yankees this season, tossing 177 1/3 innings with a 3.91 ERA while striking out 151 and walking 32.