Jameson Taillon hasn’t had the best luck in recent years, enduring a few injuries on his journey to the majors. But it’s safe to say his luck evened out Tuesday night.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher got the start against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park and had an incredibly scary moment in the second inning, when Hernan Perez drilled a line drive up the middle that hit Taillon square in the head.
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MLB.com’s Statcast measured Perez’s hit at 105 mph, and the ball caromed all the way into the outfield after hitting the back of Taillon’s head.
Incredibly, Taillon didn’t appear to be seriously injured and somehow stayed in the game, going on to pitch six full innings and allowing just one run in the Pirates’ eventual walk-off win. Apparently the ball hit the 24-year-old right-hander in just the right spot so as to avoid disaster.
“To be honest, I was waiting for it to hurt when I was down,” Taillon after the game, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I really felt good the whole way through. … Coming off the DL the past couple years (with Tommy John and hernia surgeries), I wasn’t going to let something like that keep me down.”
Credit goes to Taillon for keeping his composure after that scare, as Ryan Braun hit a line drive in the sixth inning that sailed directly over his head and likely gave him some flashbacks.
Taillon now boasts a 2-1 record and 3.44 ERA through six starts with Pittsburgh, but he’s just happy to be still standing.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
