HOUSTON — Like any competitor, Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon was prepared to stay in the game longer Monday. But he said he understood manager David Ross’ decision to pull him with two outs in the fifth inning.
The Cubs went on to lose to the Astros 6-4 after reliever Michael Fulmer gave up a two-run home run in the seventh, which fueled disgruntled Cubs fans’ ire on Twitter. Ultimately, however, no one decision cost the Cubs the game.
‘‘I definitely pride myself in being able to go deep in games,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘I feel like that’s something that makes me valuable is that I can help the bullpen and find a way to settle in and make adjustments and go deep.
‘‘With an open base to [Kyle] Tucker there, I thought I probably could have been smart and pitched around him. But at the same time, [Brandon Hughes] comes in, gets the job done, we hold the line. We have an off-day coming up [Thursday], and we have some new relievers in the bullpen.’’
The Cubs have been monitoring Taillon’s workload since he came back from the injured list (strained groin). And Ross took note of the hard contact Taillon gave up to the first two batters of the inning, allowing singles with exit velocities of 91.6 and 100.7 mph, respectively.
Ross also already had the left-handed Hughes up in the bullpen.
‘‘Sitting him back down, he probably would have been unavailable for the rest of the game,’’ Ross said.
He let Taillon face left-handed slugger Yordan Alvarez, who grounded into a double play that preserved the 4-4 tie. Then he went to Hughes with a runner on second and the left-handed-hitting Tucker at the plate. Taillon had thrown 68 pitches.
‘‘Also, I didn’t do myself any favors by only going 2⅔ [innings] last outing,’’ Taillon said. ‘‘I think that was probably in the back of their minds a little bit, too. It’s not just a pitch-count thing.
‘‘So going forward, I’d obviously love the opportunity to get guys out and go as deep as I can. But also I understand the matchups and what the sheets say and my injury and what I’m building back off of.’’
Hendricks in Houston
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks (strained right shoulder) joined the team in Houston and is set to throw a bullpen session Wednesday with the Cubs’ pitching coaches on hand. But Ross said Hendricks’ next start will be another rehab outing for Triple-A Iowa.
‘‘Then we’ll go from there,’’ Ross said.
Bellinger update
Center fielder Cody Bellinger was out of the lineup after hurting his left knee while making an catch against the wall that robbed the Astros of extra bases Monday. The initial tests were promising Monday, and the Cubs continued to get positive news a day later.
‘‘Good,’’ Ross said before the game when he was asked how Bellinger was feeling. ‘‘A little sore, but doing some baseball activity now. Hopefully . . . he gives me the green light to maybe use him off the bench.’’
