CINCINNATI — It wasn’t the way Jameson Taillon had scripted it.
In his first two at-bats against Joey Votto, Taillon had caught the future Hall of Famer looking on a nasty inside fastball for a strikeout. Then, he got him to pop out to third.
Still, after giving up a single and a double, Taillon intentionally walked Votto to load the bases. After all, first base was open, and Votto, who hadn’t had much success against Taillon, still isn’t one to be tested too many times. The intentional walk was the 135th of Votto’s career, tying Johnny Bench for the Cincinnati Reds’ record.