Cubs fans are losing their minds over Jameson Taillon's first rehab outing

While Jameson Taillon took a big step toward returning to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, fans might be a bit nervous considering the stats he put up in his first rehab start. However, among those who might be concerned about the hurler's outing, don't count Taillon among them.

When he took the mound, there was all sorts of excitement around the Cubs pitcher returning to a game. Then he allowed seven runs, all earned, on seven hits (including a pair of home runs) in three innings of work for Iowa against the Indianapolis Indians.

Jameson Taillon’s focus on health overshadows a rough stat line

After the start, social media showed Chicago Cubs fans were more than a little nervous about Taillon's performance. That's hardly a surprise considering the club has struggled a bit in the pitching department. And with a disappointing trade deadline, the team needs returning starters like Taillon and Javier Assad to step up. However, the veteran pitcher did his best to assuage any fears that the numbers he put up on Sunday shouldn't be concerning.

"Obviously I would love to get results," Taillon said following his outing. "The first one, I'm just glad to get it out of the way ... You never want to get to hit around, but first and foremost it's health and then it's getting back the routine."

Taillon hadn't pitched since June 29. It makes sense that there was plenty of rust. As the Cubs pitcher said, Sunday's outing was about making sure that everything was working correctly, that nothing bothered him during the start or after. Now that his first rehab trip is out of the way, it's about polishing and getting back to the routine that will allow him to help his team make a run in the final months of the regular season.

Taillon also pointed out that he wasn't able to approach the game against Indianapolis the way he would in the majors, including game planning and reviewing scouting reports.

"Being healthy and getting a pitch count in, going through the routine and getting the workload in, all that, I thought it was productive," the pitcher added.

While the Chicago Cubs were certainly hoping Jameson Taillon's first rehab start would go better, they likely knew there was a chance the start could go this way, as he said on Sunday, "We'll just see how the next one goes. Hopefully it's better than this."