Taillon (elbow) takes step forward in rehab

ST. LOUIS -- A pitcher playing catch might not seem like a big deal, but it’s been a welcome experience for Jameson Taillon over the past 10 days.

Taillon, sidelined since May 1 due to a right elbow flexor tendon strain, threw from 90 feet on Tuesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. The flat-ground throwing session went well, he said, and he’s continuing to make progress since he resumed throwing the weekend before the All-Star break.

Taillon still has a long way to go before he’s ready to pitch in games. He’ll face another test whenever he gets back on a mound, and another when he starts throwing his curveball and slider. But considering he had to wait more than two months just to throw a baseball, any step forward is a big one.

“I’m truly just trying to do this one day at a time,” Taillon said, “but to see the ball fly and get to play catch is pretty relieving.”

Taillon played catch on Saturday and Sunday at Wrigley Field then took Monday off before throwing on Tuesday. He’ll play catch again on Wednesday, take Thursday off then hopefully start an everyday throwing program on Friday.

The right-hander went 2-3 with a 4.10 ERA in his first seven starts of this season after posting a 3.20 ERA in 191 innings during his breakout 2018 campaign. Pittsburgh won’t rush its Opening Day starter back to the mound given the nature of his injury, which required extensive rest and multiple visits to different doctors.

For now, he’s focused on a healthy return -- one throwing session at a time.

“I’m working on some things. It syncs up sometimes and feels really good, then other times I’m a little out of whack,” Taillon said. “But it’s also my fifth or sixth time throwing in two, three months or whatever. Feels good. Nothing to report, which is good.”

Marte explains hustle mindset

Center fielder Starling Marte received some criticism in social-media and talk-radio spheres for not hustling to beat a double-play grounder during the Pirates’ 7-0 loss to the Cardinals on Monday night, but he was back in the lineup on Tuesday night.

Marte hit a ground ball to Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong with runners on the corners and one out in the sixth inning, and the Pirates trailing by five. He didn’t appear to run down the line at full speed, but he did not pull up or slow down. He appeared to be frustrated with himself afterward for hitting into his third double play of the night, two of them on hard-hit grounders and another on a scorched line drive to right field.

“The motive is to always run hard. The mentality is to always run hard,” Marte said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “However, there’s a lot of times when I pop out of the box trying to run hard, and I slip, and there’s always that question or that concern of, if I force it, pulling an injury or anything like that, so I always try to be careful once something like that happens to me. The mentality and the goal is always to come out the box hot and running hard.”

After the game, manager Clint Hurdle mentioned that Marte “needs to get down the line” and expanded that to say, “We all need to continue to play hard.” Marte hustled down the line when he grounded out in the ninth inning.

Hurdle benched Marte for one game last August due to lack of hustle, but no such punishment was necessary on Tuesday. Hurdle recently praised Marte for developing greater in-game focus and bringing more energy to the ballpark on a daily basis.

“I think you look, is it an outlier? How’s he played the last month? How’s he played the last two months? How’s he played the last three months?” Hurdle said. “Then you deal with the individual, because they’re all different. Starling has shown a mechanism every once in a while, when he’s disappointed in himself, he just kind of hits pause. It’s not what you want; however, he’s done it. He knows it’s not right, but sometimes, he gets outside himself. The next time, he hits a ball in the infield and runs it out.”

Around the horn

• Reliever Keone Kela (right shoulder inflammation) allowed two runs while recording one out in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday. However, Hurdle said he received an encouraging report about Kela’s performance from Indianapolis manager Brian Esposito.

“All in all, I think Keone came out of it feeling very positive about his health and the velocity and the spin on his breaking ball,” Hurdle said. “A couple guys got out in front of some balls and hit some balls, but he also threw some very good pitches. I think it was another good outing for him.”

• Right-hander Chad Kuhl, out for the season following 2018 Tommy John surgery, reached a significant milestone on Tuesday by throwing his first post-surgery bullpen session.

• First baseman Josh Bell was named the Pirates’ 2019 Heart and Hustle Award winner. Presented annually by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association. It’s the only MLB award voted on by former players.