Jameson Taillon worked five strong innings in his season debut as the host Chicago Cubs picked up an 8-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Friday afternoon in the opener of a four-game series.
Activated from the 15-day injured list on Thursday, Taillon (1-0) surrendered just one run on three hits. He didn’t walk a batter while striking out four.
Nico Hoerner went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run for Chicago, which also got two hits apiece from Cody Bellinger, Dansby Swanson and Mike Tauchman.
Bryan De La Cruz went deep and Jazz Chisholm went 2-for-4 for Miami, which has now dropped 16 of 20 games to open the season. The Marlins finished with six hits, three of which came in the ninth.
Chicago broke the game open with a four-run third.
Shortly after the Cubs loaded the bases with no outs, Garrett Cooper singled home Bellinger before another run scored on Nick Madrigal’s fielder’s choice-grounder. Miguel Amaya proceeded to cap the rally with a two-run double to make it 7-0.
Because of that outburst, Marlins starter A.J. Puk (0-4) didn’t return to the mound for the fourth, giving up a career-worst seven runs on seven hits in three innings. He walked three and fanned four.
Miami got a run back in the fourth on De La Cruz’s solo shot. However, Tauchman restored Chicago’s seven-run cushion an inning later, ripping an RBI single to right.
Puk was roughed up right from the jump, surrendering Bellinger’s run-scoring single and Swanson’s RBI double in the first.
Hoerner then doubled to drive in Madrigal to push the Cubs’ lead to 3-0 in the second.
The Marlins’ bullpen was able to stop the bleeding following Puk’s departure, as Declan Cronin, Burch Smith and Andrew Nardi combined for five innings of one-run relief.
Nick Gordon drove in a pair of runs with a single in the ninth for Miami.
