Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres drive in three runs each as Yankees beat Tigers
Yankees designated hitter Aaron Judge stands on second base and points to the dugout after his RBI double against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning of an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
There was a shadowy corner in Jameson Taillon’s mind where none of this happened. He didn’t recover from his second Tommy John surgery. He never got to don Yankee pinstripes. And May 1, 2019 was the last win he would ever record as a major-league pitcher.
Those are the sort of doubts that plague you during a long, hard recovery — one of the many long, hard recoveries that have hamstrung Taillon’s career since he was drafted second overall in 2010. But exactly two years to the day from his most recent win, Taillon vanquished all those misgivings.
He was excellent in his five innings in the Yankees' 6-4 victory Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, mowing down the Tigers and dancing out of trouble with the grace of a man who knows a thing or two about dancing out of trouble, He allowed one earned run and three hits, walked three and struck out eight in his strongest outing of the season.
After Clint Frazier dropped a wind-blown fly ball for a two-base error on Taillon's third pitch of the game, he retired three straight, striking out two. In the fifth, he struck out future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera to escape a bases-loaded jam in a 1-1 game.
A day after knocking in five runs with two home runs, Aaron Judge drove in three with an RBI double in the fifth and a two-run single in the sixth. Gleyber Torres also drove in three runs with an RBI single in the third and a two-run single in the sixth. Taillon and four relievers struck out 13, giving Yankees pitchers 31 strikeouts in two games.
The Yankees won for the seventh time in the last 10 games to move to 13-14.
And after it all, the team presented Taillon the special WWE-style belt awarded to the player of the game.
"I was actually pretty nervous," Taillon said of the belt, which was presented by Judge. "It’s funny. I can pitch in front of a bunch of people but I get nervous for stuff like that . . . [I said] there were times where I wasn’t sure I would be back and that I was super-excited to be part of this team."
Taillon didn't allow a hit until the fourth, but it was a big one: His cutter caught too much of the plate and Jeimer Candelario hit it off the facade of the second deck in rightfield for a tying solo homer.
Judge's RBI double gave the Yankees the lead for good in the fifth. In the sixth, the Yankees loaded the bases with none out on a hit batsman and two walks, but Brett Gardner popped up and DJ LeMahieu struck out. Judge picked them up, lining a two-run single to right off Jose Cisnero. Rougned Odor walked to load the bases and Torres tacked on another two-run single for a 6-1 lead.
Justin Wilson walked the first two Tigers to face him in the seventh, picked up two outs, then allowed a two-run bloop single by Jonathan Schoop as the Tigers moved within 6-3. Niko Goodrum's leadoff homer off Chad Green in the eighth made it 6-4, but Green and Aroldis Chapman retired the next six Tigers to secure Taillon's milestone win.
"He’s amazing," Torres said. "To me, he’s an inspiration. He [went through] a tough situation and he’s continued and showed us what he can do."
Judge echoed that thought, marveling at the work Taillon put in to get to this position.
"It’s a guy who, I’ve only known him for a short amount of time now, but he’s a guy who shows up ready to work, works his butt off every day, so that’s a really special moment today," Judge said. "Whenever you have a big injury like that, Tommy John, I know it probably creeps in the back of some guys’ minds that it may be the last time I’ll ever throw. What’s my career going to look like? But he’s a guy who, through all of it, stayed positive and continued to work, work, work, and it’s really showing right now."
And though it wasn’t always easy to stay positive, Taillon managed to do so for a few reasons, he said. He knew he had people in his corner. He was intent on "staying curious about [his] career," working on his mechanics to put less strain on his elbow. And he was duly rewarded for that faith.
"There’s a lot of people who played a part in me getting back to this point," he said. "Two years ago, when I got hurt on that day, if you would have told me I’d be pitching for the New York Yankees, on this team, I would have been extremely happy with that outcome, so I’m happy to be here."
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
