Cubs share strategy behind Jameson Taillon pitching in a sim game
Earlier on Monday, Jameson Taillon took the mound at Sloan Park to pitch in a simulated game.
The veteran Cubs right-hander said he felt healthy and productive in that environment as he spoke to the media following his sim game.
“I thought it was good. I got my 3 innings in, I think we pushed the pitch count up to like 55, so healthy. I just like doing it in the stadium,” Taillon said. “I feel like you get a lot more out of it, a little more adrenaline, some good sequences, some good pitches so yeah, I thought it was really productive.”
[Cubs Weekly Podcast: A chat with Jameson Taillon]While working on a variety of sequences and pitches in today’s game, Taillon’s mindset remains the same as if he were competing in a regular season game.
“Today is one of those days I just wanted to push the pitch count and push the intensity a little bit,” Taillon said. “I’m working on a lot of stuff behind the scenes and then when I’m in a game even in that environment, I try to, like, kick it out. I did throw a few changeups, still working on it. Just kind of go out there and get into compete mode.”
[Sammy Sosa talks PED testing, Cubs tenure and more in candid interview]Taillon made his first start of spring training back on Feb. 25th against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He threw 2 innings while giving up 2 hits, 1 earned run and 2 strikeouts.
He also very well could be lined up to face the Diamondbacks when the Cubs kick off the U.S. portion of their schedule later this month. Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele are in line to start against the Dodgers in Tokyo and Taillon figures to get the ball in one of the games against Arizona.
For him, it was important not to show everything to the same team in numerous starts. Taillon was “on board” with pitching in the sim game to prepare for possibly facing the Diamondbacks once the season begins.
“I faced them last time and I would have faced them today and then maybe in that first series, I would have faced them too,” Taillon said. “I’m kind of in the middle on it. It’s like in one hand, you never want to give a team extra looks and on the other hand, if you execute good pitches, it really shouldn’t matter that much. I was all on board with doing this and not giving them an extra look.”