BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jameson Taillon tried to compose himself while stepping off the mound at McKechnie Field on Monday afternoon after giving up two hits and a run two batters into the game. His heart was beating fast, adrenaline pumping.
The stakes couldn't have been much lower. But Taillon couldn't have been happier.
The right-handed pitching prospect has been sidelined the last two years by injuries, limited a year ago to back-field games at the club's Pirate City training complex. On Monday, Taillon took the ball to start the Pirates' annual Black & Gold intrasquad game, working two innings in front of the biggest crowd he has seen in two years.