Jameson Taillon pitches in when Yankees need it most

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Gerrit Cole is and remains – even as he’s currently on the COVID-19 injured list – the unquestioned ace of the Yankees' rotation.

But the Yankees’ best pitcher at the moment?

That would be Jameson Taillon, and it isn’t debatable.

Cole, placed on the COVID IL Aug. 3, has been mostly terrific this season, 10-6 with a 3.11 ERA, with 176 strikeouts over 130 1/3 innings.

But, as no one needs reminding, Cole hasn’t been as dominant since early June when the news came that Major League Baseball intended to at last enforce its rules regarding the application of sticky substances on baseballs by pitchers. Though no one with the Yankees, Cole included, will publicly acknowledge a correlation, the numbers are what the numbers are, with the ace going 4-4 with a 4.68 ERA since June 3, though still with 79 strikeouts over 59 2/3 innings.

A similar timeframe has seen the rise of Taillon.

The righthander, acquired from the Pirates last offseason, saw his season ERA climb to 5.74 after what he described as a "humiliating" start June 12 at Philadelphia when the righthander allowed four runs and five hits in one-third of an inning.

Since that outing, Taillon is 6-0 with a 2.11 ERA in his last 10 starts, including 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA in his last seven. It is not a coincidence that the Yankees playing their best baseball of the season has overlapped that stretch.

"Man, he's been really, really, really good," Brett Gardner said after Monday’s wild 8-6 victory in 11 innings that took 4 hours 52 minutes to play and saw the Yankees’ bullpen blow four separate leads. "I mean, every time out it seems like he just continues to put up zeros and gives us a chance to win."

Taillon’s outing Monday got somewhat lost in the craziness that followed his departure from the game.

The game was scoreless through six innings before the teams combined to score in 10 straight half-innings from the seventh through the 11th.

Taillon, at 87 pitches, was pulled after allowing Emmanuel Rivera’s leadoff single in the seventh. A Jonathan Loaisiga throwing error on a pick-off attempt and balk contributed to the Royals taking a 1-0 lead and officially ended Taillon’s line at one run allowed (unearned), four hits over six-plus innings.

The 29-year-old wasn’t as sharp Monday as he had been in many of the starts during this hot stretch. But, speaking to how effective Taillon has been, he still posted zero after zero.

"I think I looked back and maybe the second or third inning and I had as many balls as I did strikes in the game," Taillon said afterward. "I thought I was kind of nibbling a little bit. All of my stuff was good. The delivery was fine. I just thought I was kind of nibbling and my sights were a little bit off on Higgy (catcher Kyle Higashioka) and the target and the plate and stuff. So after that, I thought we got a little more aggressive, and that allowed us to get a little deeper into the game."

And, ultimately, keep doing what he’s been doing since late June – essentially carrying the rotation.

"He just continues to do a great job every time he takes the ball going out and giving us a chance to win," Gardner said. "And even times when maybe he doesn't have his best stuff or gets into a little bit of trouble, he's able to right the ship immediately and get things back on track. He's a guy that's been a lot of fun to get to know and a lot of fun to play behind him."

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.