Jameson Taillon's struggles returning at a bad time for the Chicago Cubs

If the Chicago Cubs want to have any hope of winning the National League Central division the team must be able to hold up against the Milwaukee Brewers and that was not the case on Monday as the teams began a three-game series.

Jameson Taillon got the start for the Cubs as the Brewers entered the game with an 8-game winning streak. By the time Cubs fans blinked on Monday night, the team was already facing a deficit as Taillon allowed 4 runs in the first inning including a leadoff home run from Christian Yelich.

Taillon allowed an additional run in the second inning and was ultimately able to settle down as he was able to get through the sixth inning but the damage was already done to a Cubs' team that is not equipped with enough power to overcome a sizeable deficit like the one Taillon created on Monday night.

For Taillon, Monday night continued the return of his season-long struggles to find consistency. There was a stretch during July and the beginning of August where Taillon appeared to have turned the corner from his struggles to start the season but his past four starts have been a disaster.

Taillon has been tagged with 18 earned runs over his last four starts while allowing 21 runs overall. There could not be a worse time for Taillon's struggles to resume given the likelihood that Marcus Stroman is out for the remainder of the season and the team has seen inconsistency from Drew Smyly. Jordan Wicks is among the homegrown pitchers that the Cubs will be leaning on during the final month of the season but the lack of veteran stability from Taillon could be what leads to the team coming up short in terms of winning the division.

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