Chicago Cubs New Catcher Helped Star Pitcher Have Career Day

The catcher move the Chicago Cubs made is already paying dividends.

Jun 22, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Jameson Taillon (50) throws the ball against the New York Mets during the first inning at Wrigley Field. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs needed a bounce back performance in a bad way on Saturday after they were completely embarrassed in the opener against the New York Mets.

In professional baseball, bad results happen all the time that forces players and the coaching staff to quickly forget about it and move on to the next game.

It feels like that has been the case for the Cubs a lot during their rough stretch, and with Jameson Taillon set to take the mound for Game 2 of this series, they needed their past high-priced free agent to come through for them.

He did jus that, giving up only one run on six hits across seven innings of work while striking out 10 batters.

Taillon will get many of the headlines following his great performance that saw him wring up 10 hitters and walk zero for the first time in his career.

However, it might be Chicago's new catcher who was the main reason for this outing.

"He was definitely creative back there. We did some different things than normal, while also establishing our strengths, so it was a lot of fun. He's fun to work with. I think he'll just fit right in," Taillon said about Tomas Nido following his outing according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

There was also a chance this could have taken a turn for the worse.

Taillon and Nido only found out about this arrangement a couple days before the game, so they had a brief time to gain familiarity with each other ahead of live action.

But, they did what veterans do at this level and produced a gem.

"He pitched really well. Definitely got more swing-and-miss than we've seen in the last couple of starts. But I thought he was just locked in. I thought Tomas did a really nice job with him and he just controlled counts really, really well," manager Craig Counsell added.

And while the pitching performance is getting attention, it can't be understated what the offense was finally able to do.

They scored five runs in the first inning and added another in the third to give the Cubs a 6-0 lead and let their starter operate with a comfortable cushion.

Nido even got in on the offensive action later in the game, driving in a run with a double in the sixth inning.

Chicago has desperately been searching for someone who can give them production from the catcher position, and if the early returns are any indication of what's to come, then Nido's signing will have been a steal.