"Look where the balls were hit tonight. Look at the pitcher he's hitting them off of," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's an elite player. We've lost sight of that, some of us have. He's capable of doing those things. It's nothing that he hasn't done before. He's in a good place."
That was essentially all right-hander Jameson Taillon needed as he fired 6 1/3 innings in his fourth start since undergoing surgery for testicular cancer.