ST. LOUIS — Jameson Taillon stepped off the mound, grabbed the rosin bag and wiped the sweat off his right hand. With two runners on and no outs in the fifth inning, he took a moment to collect his thoughts and turned his focus to the next hitter stepping to the plate.
Francisco Cervelli then crouched behind home plate, Taillon stepped back onto the rubber, and the two began to collaborate to try to escape the jam. Six pitches later, Taillon struck out Yair Muñoz. Five pitches after that, Kolten Wong went down swinging at a slider out of the zone.
Finally, Taillon, on the 20th pitch of the inning, got a groundout to end the threat. It was the only time a Cardinals player would reach second base. Taillon, starting against the Cardinals for the second time in five days, pitched eight scoreless innings to save the struggling bullpen and lead the Pirates to a 4-0 victory Friday night at Busch Stadium.
It was Taillon's best start since his complete game one-hitter against the Reds on April 8 at PNC Park, and the batterymates worked in unison to help the Pirates exact revenge one day after a walk-off loss.
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