Taillon 'back on track,' but bullpen blows it

When the second consecutive 98-mph four-seam fastball was called for ball four, Clint Hurdle exited the third-base dugout and walked to the mound to take the ball out of Felipe Vazquez's glove in the eighth inning. Vazquez, the Pirates' closer for the past 11 months, had thrown 16 pitches while recording only one out and allowed his three inherited runners to score.

The blown save — his third consecutive — resulted in a 6-4 loss to the Cardinals at PNC Park on Sunday. The Pirates, now 28-24, dropped into fourth place in the Central Division; however, the collateral damage could have greater implications.

Vazquez was treated afterwards for what Todd Tomczyk, the team's director of sports medicine, described as "left forearm discomfort." It's another potential blow after the Pirates just got Starling Marte back from injury. What occurred on the mound for the first six-plus innings, though, was a silver lining.

Jameson Taillon, making his 11th start of the season, used his slider — a pitch he didn't throw in a major-league game until earlier this month — to throw 6 1/3 innings in what was his best start in nearly seven weeks.

"It’s definitely encouraging," Taillon said. "I can’t predict how it’s going to play until I break it out. I like to always say hitters let you know. Hitters let me know I’m on the right track. I’d obviously like to get better with it, but for the first time where I really featured that and didn’t throw a couple as a surprise, it was pretty good."

The overall line wasn't eye-catching. He gave up three earned runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts. But he was only on the mound for one of those runs — Edgar Santana allowed both inherited runners to score in the seventh inning — and only allowed one hard-hit ball all afternoon: the first of Matt Carpenter's two doubles.

Taillon retired 12 of the 25 batters he faced on three pitches or less, and he faced only three three-ball counts. More important, he discovered what a slider could mean for his already-effective arsenal of pitches.

Taillon threw a slider in rookie ball after he was drafted second overall by the Pirates in 2010; however, he stopped using it because the organization wanted him to focus on fastball command. He planned to bring the pitch back later in the minor leagues, but he didn't think it was necessary because his curveball was so effective.

Taillon revisited the pitch early this month after taking a look at pitch sequences, particularly how opponents were jumping on his four- and two-seam fastballs. Also, opponents were often not swinging at his curveball. He wanted another pitch to buy a strike early in the count that could take pressure off both fastballs. Opponents were batting over .400 against his changeup at the time, so he chose to give the slider a try and used it to strike out Andrew McCutchen when the Pirates hosted the Giants on May 11.

Still, the pitch was only 84 mph — not enough velocity to truly deceive hitters — so Taillon chose to change the grip to one that resembles a cutter. The results of that experiment were on full display Sunday.

Thirty of Taillon's 85 pitches were sliders — he threw the pitch only four times in a game prior to the start — and he used it to complete five of his six strikeouts. "They haven’t seen it, number one," Hurdle said. "Number two, they don’t have any experience at looking at it or feeling it at the plate. It’s a new weapon. The increased command, all of that helps. The two-seamer helps. The four-seamer helps. It’s just a different feel and different vibe at the plate when you’re a hitter."

Shortly before first pitch, Francisco Cervelli was scratched with flu-like symptoms, thrusting Elias Diaz into the lineup. Diaz, though, had already been told Taillon's game plan. The two casually went over it in the dugout during Saturday night's game, and Diaz saw Taillon utilize the slider in a bullpen last week.

So, when Taillon struck out Tommy Pham with the pitch in the first inning, Diaz wanted to continue to call it. Then, Taillon used a 92 mph slider for strike three on Tyler O'Neill:

Taillon's strikeout rate has dropped from last season, and he's had a difficult time putting hitters away with two strikes. He was hoping the slider would buy him a strike when behind in the count, produce weak contact and maybe, with time, become a swing-and-miss pitch.

He accomplished the latter the first time he featured it in a game.

"Obviously I’d love to have all four pitches working every time, but those are the special days,"Taillon said. "You don’t have many of those. The days where you only have two pitches, three pitches, I’m hoping that takes the pressure off the other ones. If it’s just fastball and slider for a game, I think that will take a lot of pressure off my fastball."

Not having that additional weapon had cost Taillon the past seven weeks. He had a 5.84 ERA and an opponents' OPS of .838 in his previous eight starts dating back to a complete game shutout against the Reds on April 8. With the slider catching the Cardinals off-guard, Taillon retired the side in order in the second, striking out Carson Kelly with a four-seamer high in the zone after throwing a slider for strike two.

He allowed a one-out double to Carpenter in the third, only to use his four-seamer and slider to produce weak contact on two consecutive outs. Taillon then used the slider to strikeout Yairo Muñoz and Miles Mikolas in the fifth inning, and he utilized the pitch in a key situation in the sixth inning.

With runners on first and third, he got Marcell Ozuna to lunge at a 91-mph slider, resulting in an inning-ending double play:

"One guy on the Cardinals came up to me early and said, "This guy doesn't have a slider, does he?'" Diaz said. "'He only throws a curveball.' Well, now they know he has another pitch. It's going to be good for him. The slider was nasty."

Taillon had thrown his curveball 22.5 percent of the time prior to Sunday, but he threw only seven to the Cardinals. He also threw only one changeup and 17 two-seam fastballs. His offense nearly helped him earn his first win since April 8, too.

Colin Moran's single in the fourth scored Austin Meadows from second base. Adam Frazier added a two-run triple in the fifth and scored on a sacrifice fly by Meadows one batter later. However, Taillon pitched himself into a jam in the seventh when he failed to field a chopper by Kolten Wong and allowed a second consecutive single to Muñoz.

Santana entered and allowed both inherited runners to score before Michael Feliz was tagged with three earned runs in the eighth — each scored with Vazquez on the mound. Entering Sunday, the Pirates' rotation had the second-worst ERA in the National League this month. Ivan Nova could be headed to the disabled list with a strained ligament in his right ring finger, and Taillon, expected to eventually emerge as the ace of the rotation, allowed six earned runs in six innings to the Reds on Tuesday.

The Pirates have now lost seven of their last nine games and are 11-12 in the month of May. Taillon's best start in seven weeks, though, was the bright spot in an otherwise forgettable week.

"It’s tough," Taillon said. "Man, it was a tough one. It kind of started, I felt, like when I didn’t field that Kolten Wong chopper. I need to make that play 100 times out of 100. The bullpen has been really good. Sometimes not all facets go together. Losing a game to an in-division team ... is tough when you had it."

1. Feliz's struggles troubling.

Feliz, acquired from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade, was given the first audition as the Pirates' setup man and it hasn't gone well. He's allowed three earned runs in two of his last three outings, twice coughing up the lead. The 24-year-old has an electric fastball — O'Neill swung and missed the pitch so badly that his helmet fell off — but he's not commanding his slider, which makes it easy for opponents to sit on his best pitch.

He's averaging a career-worst 4.51 pitches per plate appearance and is averaging 4.09 walks per nine innings. The Pirates are unlikely to change his role after his struggles over the past week. After all, they are short on options since Santana is their most trusted reliever to enter with runners on base at any point in the game, and Richard Rodriguez has little experience pitching in high-leverage situations.

Feliz has to start throwing his slider more for him to succeed. Opponents are batting just .182 against the pitch, yet he's thrown it just 23 percent of the time. The whiff rate on both pitches is down from last season, too. Feliz loaded the bases with a single and two walks, throwing only eight of his 17 pitches for strikes.

"Yeah, I mean, Michael is meeting some challenges as well," Hurdle said. "You give these young men an opportunity to pitch. To think they’re going to pitch perfect, clean innings for the entire season you’re pretty naive. There are going to be challenges the league is going to throw at them and hitters are going to throw at them. How you want to attack, you’re going to stick with your strengths. You want to get people in hit mode. Today, for Michael, two walks complicated things."

2. Frazier shows patience in key situation.

In addition to Gregory Polanco's struggles, Frazier has also struggled for much of the season. He was batting .227/.303/319 entering Sunday; however, he remains Hurdle's top option to bat leadoff when Josh Harrison is out of the lineup. After all, Frazier was the Pirates' most used leadoff batter last season.

His numbers weren't spectacular — he had a .704 OPS in 63 starts — but he has the plate discipline that Harrison can lack. Frazier is still averaging 4.01 pitches per plate appearances this season. Although Harrison brings an invaluable dynamic atop the order, Frazier can lull a pitcher into a mistake, as he did to Mikolas in the sixth inning.

With runners on first and second, Mikolas evened the count at 2-2 by getting Frazier to foul off an elevated slider on the outer edge of the plate. Frazier then fouled off five more pitches when, on the 11th pitch, he hit this ball to the gap in left-center:

Pham misplayed the fly ball and it carried over his head for a two-run triple. Frazier was stuck in a 3-for-29 slump and was 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position this season. The at-bat was the latest example that his versatility isn't the only reason he's stuck around in the majors this long.

Only one of the Pirates' five hits were for extra bases. Meadows went 2 for 3, while Moran and Jordy Mercer each contributed a single.

3. Hurdle to "create new limit" for Dickerson.

Despite Polanco's issues, it was Dickerson who was out of the lineup for the series finale. The decision may seem puzzling considering Dickerson is among the top hitters in the National League this season and Polanco has struggled for the past six weeks. Dickerson, 29, was batting .312/.350/.495 entering Sunday, including a .322 average over his last 30 games.

Meadows started in left field, though, because the Pirates are closely monitoring Dickerson's workload. Dickerson hasn't played 100 games in the outfield since 2014 with the Rockies. He played 93 games there for the Rays last season; however, he also served as the team's designated hitter for a combined 117 games between 2016 and 2017.

It's important to remember that Dickerson wore down in the second half of last season, too. He was unable to follow his strict workout regimen the previous offseason because he was recovering from injuries, resulting in a .241 average during the second half. The Pirates aren't in fear of that happening again. Instead, they're trying to find a way to establish a new limit for Dickerson's games played in the outfield.

He's started 46 of the Pirates' 52 games, which puts him on pace for roughly 137 games.

"We don't have a limit," Hurdle said. "That's exactly what we're trying to overpass and be smart with it. The limit, we didn't set the limit. We're trying to create a new limit for him." Dickerson will be back in the lineup Monday, with Polanco likely to sit.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY