Cubs' starting pitching woes continue as Jameson Taillon exits start

The Chicago Cubs starting rotation took another hit on Sunday night when Jameson Taillon had to leave his start against the San Francisco Giants after throwing just one inning.

The Cubs announced that Taillon exited the game with a left hamstring strain, adding to an already growing list of injuries (and concerns) on the Cubs pitching staff.

Cubs' starting pitching woes continue with Jameson Taillon injury

Aside from overall ineffectiveness from just about every starting pitcher they have used this season, the Cubs are also dealing with major injury concerns.

Starters Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton and Justin Steele are already on the IL, with Steele having made just four starts since the beginning of the 2025 season.

The extensive list of injuries has resulted in the Cubs having to put together what has been a makeshift rotation, and they are not getting many results from it.

Entering play on Sunday, the Cubs have had nine different pitchers make at least two starts this season. Out of that group, only two of them have a positive WAR (Wins Above Replacement), with Ben Brown owning a 1.8 mark and Horton, in only two starts, owning a 0.2 mark.

Brown and Horton are also the only two starters on that list with an ERA+ over 85 (a 100 ERA+ being a league average pitcher). 

Given that lack of starting pitching, it is a minor miracle that the Cubs entered play on Sunday with a 34-31 record and three games over .500. That record, however, has been rapidly trending in the wrong direction.

Since improving to 27-12 on May 8, the Cubs went just 7-19 in the 26 games that followed. 

Now they have another potential starting pitcher injury to worry about.