Well, cancel that reunion. We should’ve known it was too good to be true.
On the verge of having a full complement of healthy starting pitching, Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon walked off the mound one batter into the second inning, never a good sign.
There was little discussion and no test pitches to see if he was OK. Taillon was done for the night, and almost certainly for the foreseeable future. The Cubs announced an inning later that Taillon had left because of a strained left hamstring. That almost certainly will require a trip to the injured list, and the Cubs can only hope that it won’t be as severe as the one that sidelined Shota Imanaga last season for seven weeks.
Until Sunday night, Taillon, 34, had been one of the lucky ones, at least in terms of remaining upright. He had made all 12 of his scheduled starts, and while he had allowed an alarming number of home runs (20, most in the majors), Taillon was coming off one of his better starts of the season. Five days earlier, he had held the Athletics to two runs in 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two in a 2-1 loss.
In the series opener Friday against the Giants, Edward Cabrera made an inauspicious return from a stint on the injured list because of a blister. Cabrera was pounded for eight runs and gave up three home runs — a grand slam and two two-run homers.
On the flip side, Cabrera averaged 97.3 mph on his four-seam fastball, topping out at 99.5, and got seven swings and misses on his changeup. He refused to use his layoff as an excuse.
“For me, those excuses are not used here,’’ he said. “If you did poorly, just lift your head, prepare yourself, sleep well. And the next day, return with a stronger mind.’’
On Saturday, Matthew Boyd, who has been out since May 4 after surgery to remove torn meniscus from his left knee, made a second rehab start in Iowa. Manager Craig Counsell announced that he would be returning on the team’s trip to Colorado and San
