Rangers 3, Cubs 0: Jameson Taillon was good, but Jacob deGrom was better

That’s all the Rangers got while Taillon was in the game. He threw really well, I thought — 5.1 innings, four hits, just the one run, and no home runs allowed. It was just the second of Taillon’s eight starts this year in which he did not allow a home run, and the other was his first, way back on March 31.

Here’s more on Taillon’s outing [VIDEO].

But Jacob deGrom was throwing like 2018-19 vintage deGrom in this one. The Cubs had just three hits off him, a single and a double by Nico Hoerner and another single by Michael Busch. deGrom struck out 10 and didn’t walk anyone, and I rarely show you the pitcher report on the Cubs opponent, but holy moly look what deGrom did in this one [VIDEO].

Hoby Milner had relieved Taillon and didn’t allow a run, and Phil Maton, who’s been very good recently, threw 1.1 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.

The Cubs couldn’t do anything with Jacob Latz in the eighth, and with the score still 1-0, Craig Counsell called on Daniel Palencia to keep it that way. Friends, he did not do that. After Palencia recorded the first two outs routinely (one on an ABS challenge), he allowed a single to right and then Evan Carter smashed a home run just out of the reach of a jumping Seiya Suzuki.

Those were the first runs Palencia allowed this year, in his eighth outing. It happens.

Unfortunately, that put the game out of reach and the Cubs went down quietly 1-2-3 in the ninth to end things.

Here are some notes on this one from BCB’s JohnW53:

Yesterday and today are the 94th time since 1901 that the Cubs have been shut out in consecutive games.

The most recent was Sept. 6-7, 2024, by 3-0 and 2-0 at home vs. the Yankees. They made one hit in the first game and four in the second, including a triple.

That was the 84th instance that ended at two games. The Cubs were blanked in three straight games eight times: seven in 1902-24, then July 23-25, 1950.

They did not score in four in a row June 16-20, 1968, and April 27-May 1, 1992.
…..
There had been only 29 previous shutouts since 1901 by all teams with three hits, no walks and exactly 10 strikeouts. Three had been by the Cubs, by 1-0 at Brooklyn in 1951, 2-0 at home vs. the Expos in 1981 and 3-0 at home vs. the Reds on Sept. 9, 2020.

In all games since 1901 with exactly three hits, the Cubs have won 80, lost 445 and tied four, a percentage of .155. 
…..
This was the 12th Mother’s Day game in which the Cubs have been shut out. The previous one was at St. Louis, 5-0, in 2017.

The Cubs also lost on the holiday last year. They have dropped five of six and seven of nine. Their overall record is 54-73-2, a winning percentage of .426.

This series, despite the two shutout losses, doesn’t really concern me that much. The Cubs did score seven runs Friday in a ballpark that appears to be playing as an extreme pitchers’ park this year. They allowed one, six and three runs in the three games, a total of 10, which isn’t too terrible.

All they can do is pick up the pieces, try to get things together after an off day Monday, and try to begin winning again against the Braves. The Cubs and Braves entered the day tied for MLB’s best record, though the Braves are leading the Dodgers late at the time of this recap. Colin Rea is listed as the Cubs starter for the series opener in Atlanta on Tuesday. At this time the Braves do not have a starter listed, but if they stay on rotation it could be Martin Perez facing the Cubs. Game time Tuesday is 6:15 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and TBS outside the Cubs and Braves market territories).