The Yankees give out a championship wrestling belt to whoever they felt was the MVP of that day’s victory, and on Saturday, the undisputed champ was Jameson Taillon.
Two years to the day from his last major league win, just before an injured elbow led to a second Tommy John surgery, Taillon picked up his first win since May 1, 2019, going five innings and allowing just one run in a 6-4 win for the Yanks, their second in a row.
For Taillon, it was another monumental landmark in what was a long road back from Tommy John, which had threatened his career despite being just 26 years old at the time.
“Two years ago when I got hurt on that day that I’d be pitching for the New York Yankees and on this team, I would have been extremely happy with that outcome,” Taillon said. “So I’m happy to be here.”
The Yanks celebrated Taillon’s first win in two calendar years in the visitor’s clubhouse in Detroit after the righty allowed just three hits while striking out eight to keep momentum in the team’s corner as it tries to continue its climb out of the AL East cellar.
“It took me a little longer than I would have liked to get my first one here, so that makes it meaningful to be on the board and get it out of the way,” Taillon said.
Taillon’s biggest strikeout of the game came on his last batter of the day, fanning Miguel Cabrera to end the fifth with the bases loaded. Taillon pumped a 94 mph fastball up in the zone past Cabrera, letting out a primal roar into his glove after escaping the threat.
“That inning started to get some traffic on base there,” Taillon said. “Miggy is one of the best hitters of our generation, if not the best. No matter what stage of his career he’s at, I have a ton of respect for a guy like that standing in the box. That made that moment that much bigger to get him there, because he’s come up big in a lot of spots over the years in those spots, so that was a good challenge for me.”
Taillon is still looking to find more length out of his starts, but on Sunday, he flashed some of his best strikeout stuff of the season, and while he still feels he has a ways to go in making improvements on the mound, Saturday was an opportunity to celebrate his continued climb back from baseball purgatory following another major surgery.
“There were times where I wasn’t 100 percent sure if I’d ever be back in a big league uniform, let alone to be on a team like the Yankees and to contribute to wins throughout the year, so it’s definitely meaningful,” Taillon said. “There’s a lot of people that played a part in it to get be back to this point. Now I’m just looking forward to putting my head down and knocking out some more starts.”
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