Jameson Taillon fanned a career-high ten batters and Jordy Mercer drove in four runs with three singles as the Pirates opened their five-game series against Milwaukee with a 6-3 win.
Taillon didn’t exactly follow the Pirates’ preferred formula. He mixed his pitches thoroughly right from the first hitter, getting into a number of three-ball counts but managing to work out of most of them, walking only two. Meanwhile, he kept the Brewers off-balance enough to rack up the Ks. By my count, he got three on four-seamers, six on curves and one on a slider. Gerrit Cole would be proud.