Taillon grinds out his fourth victory

CINCINNATI — Jameson Taillon returned to the Pirates’ rotation on Saturday afternoon feeling strong and healthy, but not particularly sharp. Still, the good outweighed the bad, as Taillon pitched well enough to maintain a big lead and earn the win in the Bucs’ 10-4 victory over the Reds.

Taillon hadn’t started since Sept. 7, skipped in the rotation to manage his workload down the stretch. He threw five innings, including the Minors, and allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two. He wasn’t quite as efficient as normal, needing 79 pitches to get through five innings. But the important thing to Taillon was how he felt working on extended rest.

“As a starting pitcher, you want to remove as many variables as possible. You want to feel the same every time — never too good, never too bad,” Taillon said. “I felt pretty good, pretty strong. I made a couple [of] mistakes, but I felt really healthy. I think the break was good for me.”

Taillon felt his curveball wasn’t as …

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