Taillon throws 5 shutout innings in return
Pirate forms bond with Rockies’ Bettis
PITTSBURGH — Five weeks ago, Colorado Rockies starter Chad Bettis had advice for righthander Jameson Taillon but no phone number. He contacted Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich and was put in touch with manager Clint Hurdle, who passed him along to Taillon. At that point, the evening of May 8, Taillon was at his Pittsburgh apartment recovering from surgery for testicular cancer.
Bettis underwent the same surgery six months prior, though he needed chemotherapy this spring after the cancer spread. Bettis wanted to give Taillon space, but he understood it might help to hear from someone in the same line of work with a similar story. Bettis hoped he could be, in his words, “a shoulder to lean on” as Taillon turned his attention back to baseball.
So it seemed apropos Bettis was perched along the railing in the visitor’s dugout at PNC Park on Monday night when Taillon returned to the pitcher’s mound and tossed five scoreless innings in a 7-2 Pirates win over the Rockies, triumphing in his first start since a cancer diagnosis.
“I don’t know if it was planned or if it was destiny,” Bettis said before the game. “I think it’s really cool. It’s exciting I get to see him go through it and make his first start back. That’s a huge privilege.”
For Taillon, the emotional start proceeded surprisingly smoothly. He scattered five singles, two walks and five strikeouts, spending 82 pitches before manager Clint Hurdle went to the bullpen. Taillon’s stuff was sharp, and under normal circumstances he may have continued into the sixth.
During his rehab process, Taillon, 25, reached out to Bettis, 28, a few times. When doctors cleared Taillon to make his first rehab start three weeks after surgery, he texted Bettis. The message, in Taillon’s recollection, went, “There’s no script for this. There’s no playbook. Do you think I’m rushing this? You’ve gone through it. Do you think I should take time off or go home?”
“Dude, screw that,” Bettis replied. “It’s in your DNA. It’s in your blood. This is who you are. This is what you do. Why would you try to stop that? If it makes you feel better, do it.”
Though Bettis’ recovery has been slower, the prognosis still is good. After surgery Nov. 29 to remove a testicle, Bettis at the time avoided radiation and resumed his offseason throwing program. In March, doctors discovered the cancer had spread and called for chemotherapy. Bettis rejoined the Rockies earlier this month and has progressed to throwing long toss.
“You walk away from this, and you’ve become an expert at something you don’t want to be an expert at,” Bettis said. “At the same time, I’ve learned a lot.”
In late May, Taillon read a FOX Sports feature in which Bettis said his goal is to pitch in the majors this season. While many
might admire the message and the motivation, Taillon figured, most probably don’t expect Bettis to return so soon. Taillon, for one, is a Bettis believer.
“It gave me chills,” he said. “I texted him, ‘I’m looking forward to seeing you on a mound this year. Not if or when or I hope it happens, I’m looking forward to the day you pitch this season, 2017.’
“I’m pulling for him. Whenever he pitches in a major league game again, I’ll be tuning in.”
MARINERS 14, TWINS 3: In Minneapolis, Nelson Cruz drove in four runs, Mitch Haniger had four hits, and Seattle beat Minnesota.
Danny Valencia and Mike Zunino hit back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning, the fifth such feat for the Mariners this season.
Twins rookie Adalberto Mejia (1-2) struggled from the start, allowing nine hits and nine runs and leaving with two outs in the fourth inning. The first two batters in the lineup, Ben Gamel and Haniger, reached base and eventually scored all three times they faced Mejia. RANGERS 6, ASTROS 1: In Houston, Yu Darvish pitched seven solid innings and Nomar Mazara hit a three-run homer to give Texas a win over Houston.
Darvish (6-4) allowed one hit and one run with three walks. He induced a season-best 12 groundball outs.
The Rangers went up 2-0 on back-to-back triples by Rougned Odor and Joey Gallo in the third inning.
The Astros got an RBI single by Alex Bregman in the fifth, but a run-scoring double by Adrian Beltre gave the Rangers some insurance in the sixth inning.
METS 6, CUBS 1: In New York, Jacob deGrom pitched a five-hitter, Asdrubal Cabrera atoned for an embarrassing error by lining two home runs and turning four double plays, and the Mets beat the Cubs.
DeGrom (5-3) threw the Mets’ first complete game of the season as New York won its fourth in a row. RED SOX 6, PHILLIES 5: In Boston, Dustin Pedroia singled home the winning run in the 11th inning to lift Boston to a win over Philadelphia.
Pablo Sandoval opened the inning with a single off Casey Fein (0-1). Deven Marrero pinchran and moved up on a sacrifice. After Mookie Betts was intentionally walked, Pedroia hit a ground single to right and Marrero beat the throw from Aaron Altherr with a headfirst slide on a close play. WHITE SOX 10, ORIOLES 7: In Chicago, Kevan Smith hit his first career home run, Avisail Garcia celebrated his 26th birthday with three RBIs and Chicago beat Baltimore.
The White Sox opened a fourgame series on a strong note after dropping nine of 11 and handed the Orioles their fifth straight loss. BRAVES 11, NATIONALS 10: In Washington, Tyler Flowers hit a go-ahead three-run home run off Matt Albers in the ninth inning and Atlanta came from three runs down to snap a three-game skid.