Pirates-Brewers preview
MILWAUKEE -- Two potential future aces will be on display when the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers continue their four-game series on Saturday evening at Miller Park. Right-hander Jamison Tallion has looked every bit as good as advertised through the first 12 starts of his career. He's coming off one of his best outings of the season, having struck out a career-high eight batters while holding the Astros to two ruuns, four hits and a walk in eight innings. Tallion leaned on his two-seam fastball in that outing. "I was getting more swing and misses, more ground balls and better pitch efficiency when I throw the two-seam (fastball)," Taillon said. "Whereas, I don't get away with mistakes when I throw the four-seam. (The coaches) told me try it out, and I just ran with it." It was the third time that Tallion worked eight innings this season. For the year, he has thrown 74 for the Pirates on top of 61 2/3 for Triple-A Indianapolis earlier this season. His career high for innings worked came in 2013 when he threw 147 1/3, but as of now, the Pirates don't seem inclined to worry about his workload. "We're playing it by ear," Taillon told a Pittsburgh radio station earlier this week. "If there was one perfect way to do it, we would be doing it, but I think we have to really go off of what we're seeing and what we're feeling. I have to be honest with them and tell them how I'm feeling, how I'm recovering between starts. I think there's going to be some two-way communication back and forth. "As far as I've been told, I'm good to pitch." Milwaukee will turn to right-hander Jimmy Nelson, who snapped a six-game losing streak his last time out by holding the Rockies to two runs despite seven hits in six innings. During his losing streak, Nelson had posted an 8.04 ERA. "I think this was just kind of the next step in all that," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "The big thing was that he threw a ton of strikes tonight -- 71 strikes in 95 pitches. He was pounding the zone very well tonight. He put them in swing mode a little bit because of that. He did a nice job, especially after the first two innings. The next four innings he did a really good job. He pitched well." Nelson's strike-to-ball ratio resulted in no walks -- something Nelson hadn't done all season, but he was happiest about working six full innings for the first time since July 16. "I feel like I've been doing five-and-dies for friggin' two or three months," Nelson said. "It definitely was nice. More so for the bullpen guys. I honestly felt really good, like I could have gone back out there. With the tempo and effort of my delivery, I felt like I didn't really get tired out there. Even later in the game, my pitches didn't drift up in the zone or anything like that." |