MESA, Ariz. — Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon’s awful spring stayed that way Sunday, with a 10-run shelling from the Dodgers fraught with walks (four), homers (Mookie Betts and Jack Suwinski) and an array of Dodgers hits (eight) over 3 ⅔ innings at Sloan Park.Taillon is tinkering with minor mechanical tweaks, but with the season starting in less than two weeks, the time to use that as an excuse is running out, and he knows it.“It’s also on me when you’re in a game to go out and compete,” said Taillon, who has been peppered for 23 hits including eight homers in 9 ⅔ innings of work for a 22.18 ERA in Arizona. “Right now I’m not doing that, I’m kind of all over the place. Again, got to be better.”It was rough from the get-go, as Taillon walked two and gave up an RBI single to Santiago Espinal and a three-run homer to Suwinski after striking out the game’s first batter, Hyeseong Kim. The Dodgers scored in all four of Taillon’s innings.Both homers were off his cutter.“Not a ton of deception there,” said Taillon, who characterized the outing as “a disappointing setback.”.All signs point to Taillon in the fifth slot of the starting rotation behind Opening Day lefty Matthew Boyd, right-hander Cade Horton, lefty Shota Imanaga and righty Edward Cabrera.Palencia shinesCloser Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to seal Venezuela’s semifinal win against Japan Saturday night in the WBC. The 26-year-old made six postseason appearances in 2025,…
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