Pirates’ Jameson Taillon Stays In After Hit To Head, Josh Harrison Walks Off In 3-2 Win Over Brewers

Jameson Taillon pitched six strong innings and Josh Harrison ripped a triple into center field in the ninth and completed the walk-off homer to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 3-2 home victory over the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday night.

Pirates’ Jameson Taillon Stays In After Hit In Head By Ball

Taillon, a 24-year-old right-hander, was struck in the back of the head by a 105-mph line drive off the bat of Brewers third baseman Hernan Perez in the second inning. Perez smacked a 2-1 fastball back up the middle with such speed, the ball bounced off Taillon’s head and caromed into left field. The rookie– who was the second overall pick of the 2010 MLB Draft– immediately reached for the back of his head and went down, laying on the field as trainers rushed out to check on him.

Surprisingly, Taillon– who missed two seasons while recovering from Tommy John surgery and came off the disabled list earlier Tuesday– got up quickly and remained in the game. He allowed one run on five hits and struck out three without a walk, throwing 65 pitches over six innings.

“To be honest, I was waiting for it to hurt when I was down, and I really felt good,” Taillon said. “The biggest thing was fighting some adrenaline afterward. My pitches were up.”

Francisco Cervelli brought home Andrew McCutchen with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Cervelli returned to the lineup for the first time since undergoing surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone on June 11.

Perez ground out to third in the top of the fourth to drive home Chris Carter and cut the Brewers’ deficit to 2-1, then delivered a single up the middle to bring home Ryan Braun, tying the game at 2 with two outs in the ninth inning.

Harrison eventually sealed the win for the Pirates by racing to third on his hustle triple and walking off to home when second baseman Scooter Gennett’s throw struck Harrison and caromed into the Pittsburgh dugout.

It was Harrison’s sixth career walk-off hit and his second in two years off right-hander Tyler Thornburg. In the 16th inning of his team’s 18-inning, 2-1 marathon win over the Nationals on Sunday, Harrison saw Washington execute a perfect relay throw to nab Eric Fryer at the plate. He figured the odds were in his favor this time.

“I never broke stride. I was going to make them make perfect relays,” Harrison said. “The odds of that happening two games in a row, I was going to take my chances.”

Braun walked and Jonathan Lucroy singled to start the ninth against Mark Melancon, the Pirates’ All-Star closer who was coming off a blown save on Sunday that snapped his 18-inning scoreless streak and a run of 23 consecutive saves. Melancon struck out Carter and Kirk Nieuwenhuis before Perez’s game-tying single. Brewers manager Craig Counsell called it “an everything-on-the-line at-bat.”

It was the Pirates’ 10th victory in their last 14 meetings at PNC Park. Pittsburgh has won 14 of their last 20 games overall.

The Brewers, meanwhile, have lost 11 of their last 15 road games, including straight walk-offs Sunday in Cincinnati and Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

“I’ve never had that situation, two walk-off losses in a row,” Perez said. “It’s tough, but I think we have to keep battling.”

“Anytime you’re walked off twice in a row, it’s just frustrating, because you know you’re close,” Counsell said. “It was a good ballgame tonight. We battled back. It was great to see us get a run off a really good closer, an All-Star closer.”

The two teams will meet up again for the middle game of their series in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Right-hander Chase Anderson will start for the Brewers (39-52, 4th in NL Central), while left-hander Jeff Locke will take the mound for the Pirates (48-45, 3rd in NL Central).

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 19: Jameson Taillon #50 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 19, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)