PITTSBURGH _ Five weeks ago, Colorado Rockies starter Chad Bettis had advice for right-hander 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 (41-25), 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.
The Pirates (29-35) backed up Taillon's comeback. They never trailed, thanks to their second batter of the game, Josh Harrison, hammering a two-run homer off lefty Kyle Freeland. Pittsburgh had three two-run innings, plus a single run in the sixth, for its fourth win in a row.
Freeland entered the game ranked first among rookie starting pitchers with a 3.34 ERA, second in wins (seven) and third in batting average against (.256). He gave up four earned runs or more only once in his previous 10 starts. On Monday, he allowed five runs, four earned, in 5 2/3 innings. The Pirates tagged him for a career-high nine hits, and added two against the bullpen.
After Taillon departed, the bullpen _ a parade consisting of left-hander Wade LeBlanc, left-hander Tony Watson, right-hander Edgar Santana and right-hander Jhan Marinez _ combined to hold the Rockies to two runs in four innings, the run being charged to LeBlanc and Marinez.
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."
Another bit of advice Bettis gave Taillon was something Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France champion who had testicular cancer in 1996 told him earlier this year. Everyone responds differently to chemo, he cautioned, "so if you don't have to go through it, don't."
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."
