Taillon’s solid start isn’t enough to slow Astros

PITTSBURGH — Pirates rookie Jameson Taillon threw eight strong innings on Monday night, but it wasn’t enough to stop his childhood-favorite team. The Astros stayed hot in their pursuit of an American League Wild Card spot, riding seven scoreless innings from Doug Fister to a 3-1 win in the series opener at PNC Park.

Houston won its fourth straight and remained 3 1/2 games back in the AL Wild Card race. Pittsburgh appears to be heading in the opposite direction after losing four in a row, a skid in which the Bucs have totaled nine runs. With the loss, the Pirates fell 3 1/2 games behind the idle Cardinals in the National League Wild Card chase.

Fister was efficient on Monday, yielding three hits and a walk while striking out six.

Taillon, a Houston resident and graduate of The Woodlands High School, did his part in his 12th big league start. He completed eight innings for the third time this season and struck out a career-high eight. His lone mistake came in the fifth, as Astros left fielder Teoscar Hernandez ripped a 3-1 fastball into the left-field seats, traveling an estimated 409 feet from the plate, according to Statcast™. Alex Bregman tacked on another run in the ninth, ripping a solo homer to center off Neftali Feliz.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDTeoscar time: Rookie outfielder Hernandez has proven to be ready for just about any moment so far in his brief time in the bigs. …

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