Jameson Taillon wasn't even going to dignify Clint Hurdle's question with an answer.
"You have any pitches left?"
That was the manager, approaching his starting pitcher in the dugout late Sunday afternoon. Eighth inning. All zeroes on opponents' portion of the PNC Park scoreboard. Pitch count: 95.
The starting pitcher didn't respond with so much as a syllable. Barely budged. Only enough to glare.
"OK, go get it."
That was the manager, too.
TAP FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOThe starting pitcher took the ball back for the ninth, pumped fastball after fastball for strike after strike and, soon enough, strode off the mound -- his mound, as he'd made abundantly clear -- with a one-hit, seven-strikeout, 110-pitch shutout that carried the Pirates past the Reds, 5-0.
First shutout of Taillon's increasingly encouraging career.
First one-hitter for the franchise since July 31, 2012, by A.J. Burnett at Wrigley Field.
First of many?
"Let's let him write the book on that. It's not written yet," Hurdle would say later, reciting a familiar refrain regarding younger players. "He went out there and pitched a fine game. Threw a lot of strikes. Went right at bats. Got a lot of soft contact. Had the seven punchouts, too. It was fun to watch. A lot of fun."
For the other participants, too.
"He basically just put the ball where he wanted, in and out, up and down," Jordy Mercer would tell me afterward. "He had them moving around, trying to adjust, and that never really happened. Outstanding. Just outstanding."
"It's amazing," Francisco Cervelli would say. "This guy ... he's special."
"Sky's the limit for that kid," Josh Harrison would essentially echo across the room. "There's so much talent there, so much character. I think, for all of us, seeing that come together is really exciting."
Then J-Hay began forming a devilish smile.
"But I knew this," he continued, unsolicited. "I saw this one coming."
Oh really? Meaning through Taillon's overall progress?
"No, I mean the first inning. I knew he'd do this today after his first couple batters. I saw his stuff, his command, and I said, 'Good luck, Reds!' "
Ha!
Well, Taillon's having fun, too. And that's something to appreciate in and of itself, given his comeback from Tommy John surgery, then cancer. All this had been expected of him, fairly or not, since being the Pirates' No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 draft. He's intense when pitching -- and, as was witnessed here, when his manager might want to take the ball -- but he's also flexed his gregarious, supremely smart persona across all aspects of the clubhouse, to the point the team voted him to be their union rep early in spring training.
When this one ended, Harrison and Josh Bell rained down buckets of Gatorade and bubble gum, at least one of which couldn't have been too welcome in 32-degree temps and slight snow flurries.
"I'll take it," Taillon would say, beaming, after he'd toweled himself off. "A little chilly, but I'll take it."
Ultimately, of course, it comes down to pitching.
And ultimately within that, of course, it comes down to his fastball.
The Reds are going to be terrible yet again, but they have a few guys who can hit, a couple who can really hit. Still, Taillon and Cervelli opted for the fastball, including sinkers, on 80 of those 110 pitches. The signature hammer curve, his claim to fame as a prospect, was relegated to a distraction. The changeup, still a work in progress, was used only a handful of times. All that mattered was a fastball that came with striking consistency, both in precision and velocity, maintaining its 94.5 mph throughout.
It's funny but, as Taillon was rising through the system, management occasionally prohibited him from leaning on that curve in critical counts. That's because he'd use it as a crutch. Players at that level couldn't come close to touching it. So he'd struggle with the fastball, dig himself a hole, then cheat his way out with the curve.
I asked if, back then, he could have envisioned a performance like this one:
That's good stuff, huh?
As Hurdle stressed, it's just two starts, but his 14 1/3 innings have seen two earned runs, two walks, 16 strikeouts and a .106 opponents' batting average. This after a strong spring training and a strong 2017, at least in the sense that he made a career-high 25 starts and showed flashes.
Maybe these are flashes, too. Maybe they aren't.
One particular at-bat caught my eye. Billy Hamilton led off the Cincinnati ninth, right after Taillon had reclaimed that ball, and baseball's fastest human entered the box with quite the history against Taillon: 7 for 17 with a double, triple and two home runs. But again, Taillon went right at him, first a fastball, then a curve for an 0-2 count. And after a couple waste pitches, he and Cervelli went right back with the heat, outer corner, to freeze him.
And I mean deep-freeze him:
Watch that again and again. I have. It's gorgeous. Watch Cervelli's glove, almost as motionless as Hamilton himself.
But then, if Hamilton takes his bat off the shoulder there ...
"Bouncer to short," J-Hay predicted.
"Bouncer to third," Sean Rodriguez chimed in.
Either way, it's another out.
I brought up the Hamilton at-bat with Taillon, too, and he lit up.
"He's had success off me, that's the thing," he began with the reply. "And I think the biggest difference between me now and even a year ago is that I'm not changing who I am for the hitter I'm facing. If I'm facing Joey Votto, I'm not going with a splitter because, honestly, my splitter isn't that good. So in this game, Cervy did a great job calling for the fastball, and that's what was working for us. So whether it's Votto, Hamilton or anyone else, I'm going to go with my best pitch. I'm going to go with what works for me."
And that feels?
"That feels good. I'm not going to lie."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Reds, PNC Park, April 8, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS