Chicago Cubs’ starting pitcher has been snake bitten by the long ball in his last 2 starts

The Chicago Cubs did not complete the sweep against Miami at home on Wednesday night, but still claimed another series at Wrigley Field this season. They put together a comeback in game two of the set where Justin Turner walked it off with a two-run double in the ninth inning. Even though the Cubs claimed this series thanks to those late-inning heroics, their bats fell quiet against a relatively poor pitching staff.

Miami has a couple of solid arms in their bullpen like Anthony Bender, but Chicago has done better against much strong units so far this season. They scored just one run on four hits in their 3-1 to conclude the series on Wednesday, with Seiya Suzuki launching his 11th home run of the season in the fourth frame to give the Cubs their lone run.

Jameson Taillon got the ball for the Cubs on Wednesday and he has been solid so far in his third season with the organization. The veteran right-hander has stacked together quality starts to begin the campaign, but one thing has held him back in his last two outings.

Jameson Taillon has allowed seven homers in his last two starts

Despite giving the Cubs a chance to win in his last two times on the hill, Taillon has allowed seven home runs in that stretch. The veteran gave up four solo shots against the Mets last Friday at Citi Field, and followed it up by having three more solo homers hit against him on Wednesday. Taillon hasn’t had the strongest May, as he has allowed 10 earned runs in three starts. However, none of the two losses that he has picked up were out of hand when he was taken out of the game.

Taillon was extremely sharp in April across five starts. The right-hander finished the month with a 2.76 ERA in 29.1 innings tossed, but the Cubs only won two of his five starts that month. Dating back to Chicago’s 10-4 loss on the road against San Diego where Taillon got the nod, they have only won one of his last six starts.

The Chicago Cubs still have a reliable starter in Jameson Taillon

Even though things haven’t been in Taillon’s favor as of late, Chicago still has a quality starter in the 33-year-old. He has a 2-3 record so far this season in nine starts and he has a 4.53 ERA. His 1.11 WHIP is 30th among all starters in baseball, and he looks much more like he did in a solid 2024 campaign with the Cubs rather than his hard-to-watch 2023 season with the club.

With Chicago’s pitching staff losing it’s depth due to injuries to Shota Imanaga and Justin Steele, they will need to lean on veterans like Taillon and Matthew Boyd to carry them until the trade deadline. Taillon will get another shot at the Marlins when the Cubs travel to Miami to begin a three-game series next Monday.