Cubs’ Javier Assad shuts down Giants offense after Jameson Taillon injury

Jameson Taillon left Sunday’s series finale between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants after just an inning of his start due to an apparent injury.

Taillon allowed an earned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts before exiting the contest.

It was reportedly a hamstring issue for Taillon, whose exit paved the way for Javier Assad to take the mound.

Assad looked ready for the job, as he tossed 6.1 innings of scoreless work, surrendering just a hit and a walk, while racking up five strikeouts.

It also appears that the Cubs planned their pitching usage around a potential relief appearance by Assad, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.

“A few days ago Craig Counsell mentioned they were saving Javier Assad for a just-in-case moment this weekend. So this must be what he meant. Something must have been bugging Jameson Taillon. Assad is in the game now,” Rogers shared via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.

The 28-year-old Assad is in his fifth season in the big leagues. He entered the Giants game with a 3-1 record to go along with a 5.88 ERA through his first eight appearances in 2026, including three starts.

The extent of Taillon’s injury has yet to be determined at the time of this writing, but the Cubs surely are hoping it’s not serious enough for him to get designated to the injury list. Chicago is already banged up on the pitching front, with Matthew Boyd, Hunter Harvey, and  Justin Steele among the Cubs pitchers who are on the shelf with injuries.

Unfortunately for the Cubs, they lost to the Giants 2-1 in extra innings, with reliever Trent Thornton taking the pitching loss.

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