Taillon entered rare territory against Mets
Jameson Taillon entered rare territory Tuesday night against the New York Mets.
The Pirates rookie right-hander took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and wound up pitching eight scoreless innings while allowing two hits to the defending National League champions at Citi Field in New York.
According the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked just the third time since 1893 — the season the pitcher’s mound was set at its current distance of 60 feet, 6 inches from home plate — that a Pirates pitcher worked at least eight innings without allowing a run and no more than two hits in either his first or second career start in the major leagues.
The first to do so was Elmer Ponder in his second career start on Sept. 22, 1917, when he pitched a two-hit shutout to beat the New York Giants in the second game of a doubleheader at Forbes Field.
Cy Blanton, also in his second start, shut out the St. Louis Cardinals on one hit in a 3-0 victory on April 19, 1935, at Forbes Field.
The Pirates have high hopes that Taillon can help anchor their rotation for years to come. Thus, they surely will keep their fingers crossed that he has a better career than either Ponder or Blanton.
Ponder pitched just four seasons, going 17-27 with a 3.21 ERA, while Blanton finished his nine-year career with a 68-71 record and 3.55 ERA.
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The Pirates were one of 20 major leagues teams whose attendance was down from last season through Thursday’s games.
The average crowd has been 25,714 so far at PNC Park, compared to 26,888 a year ago. Of course, the prime drawing season is just starting with the beginning of summer coming Tuesday.
The Pirates ranked sixth among the attendance losers with a drop of 1,174 a game. The Oakland Athletics were down a MLB-worse 4,562 a game, to 17,816 from 22,378.
The Toronto Blue Jays had the biggest gain with an average of 37,655 fans, up 12,029 from 25,627, a year after making their first postseason appearance since 1993.
Overall, attendance was down 343 a game across MLB.
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Albert Pujols seemed to be a one-man wrecking crew whenever the Cardinals visited PNC Park during his 12 years with St. Louis from 2001-11. Left fielder Matt Holliday has taken over that role in the ensuing five seasons.
Last weekend, Holliday became the first Cardinals’ player to have at least three hits, including a home run, in consecutive game at PNC Park since Troy Glaus in 2008. Holliday is a career .301 hitter in Pittsburgh with 12 homers in 77 games.