It was Jameson Taillon for Pittsburgh and Chad Bettis for Colorado on Tuesday night at Coors Field.
An intersection with special significance.
Taillon beat Bettis in a matchup of pitchers who battled testicular cancer last year, and the Pirates hit three homers in a 10-2 victory over the Rockies.
“I’m not going to sit here and say we’re best friends and we talk on the phone all the time but we’ve both gone through something that is extremely similar and we both go through something similar starting pitching in the major leagues,” Taillon said. “There’s an understood bond there, something we’ll share for life.”
Taillon (9-8) allowed 10 hits in his second complete game of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out three and walked one, helping the Pirates stop a three-game slide.
He became the first visiting pitcher to toss a nine-inning complete game in Denver since Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw shut out the Rockies on July 2, 2013.
“I’ve watched 1,300, 1,400 ballgames here, you don’t see a lot of complete games,” said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle, who managed the Rockies over eight seasons. “He finished strong.”
Taillon threw 107 pitches, 70 for strikes. He needed just 15 to get the final three outs in his second career complete game.
“You always hear closing out games is tough, weird things happen in the ninth so I told myself it’s a 0-0 game, let’s close out this inning,” Taillon said.
Starling Marte hit a solo drive in the first and Jordy Mercer connected for a three-run shot against Bettis (5-2) with two out in the fourth. Josh Harrison capped Pittsburgh’s five-run fifth with a two-run homer off Jake McGee.
Bettis allowed nine runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings in his first start after missing five weeks with a blister on his right middle finger.
“The problem was those two walks in the fourth and the home run by Mercer,” Bettis said. “It really came down to those three at-bats where I didn’t really execute the pitches like I wanted to.”
Taillon was diagnosed with cancer last year and missed six weeks after surgery last May.
Bettis was diagnosed in November 2016. He was cleared to report to spring training before tests revealed he had cancer in his lymph nodes and he underwent treatment. He made his season debut on Aug. 14 and started nine games last year.
Colorado made it 10-2 on Carlos Gonzalez’s two-run double with one out in the sixth.
REMEMBERING DON
Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the death of former Rockies manager Don Baylor. Baylor was Colorado’s first manager and held that position for six seasons. He gave Hurdle his first job on a major league staff.
“I’m forever grateful,” Hurdle said. “There’s times during the season or other times I’ll remember things he did or things he said that resonate, that have meaning. There’s still enough people within the game that I’ll see from time to time that we were connected. His spirit lives.”
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh right-hander Chris Archer (3-5, 4.40 ERA) will make his second start since he was acquired in a trade with the Rays. He will face Rockies right-hander German Marquez (9-8, 4.70 ERA) in the series finale on Wednesday.
AROUND THE MAJORS TUESDAY
–The Houston Astros have completed a two-game sweep in San Francisco by rallying from a 1-0 deficit in the late innings for the second straight day. Tyler White belted a two-run homer in the eighth to send the Astros past the Giants, 2-1. Marwin Gonzalez sparked the rally with a leadoff double, one night after slamming a go-ahead, three-run homer with two out in the ninth. Dallas Keuchel held the Giants to one run and three hits over six innings, blanking San Francisco following Chase d’Arnaud’s RBI single in the second. Joe Smith was credited with the Astros’ fifth win in six games, striking out the two hitters he faced to improve to 4-1. The Giants wasted Madison Bumgarner’s seven scoreless innings and lost for the fourth time in five games to fall a game under .500.
— The Dodgers’ 4-2 win at Oakland gives Los Angeles a half-game lead over Arizona in the NL West and puts the Athletics 5 ½ games behind the AL West-leading Astros. Rich Hill walked four in just 5 1/3 innings but held the A’s to two runs and three hits. Khris Davis slammed his 32nd home run to get the Athletics within 3-2 in the sixth.
— The Diamondbacks were nicked up by the Phillies as Nick Pivetta and Nick Williams led Philadelphia to a 5-2 victory at Phoenix. Williams hit a solo homer and Pivetta scattered four hits over six innings as the Phils stretched their lead in the NL East to 1 ½ games over Atlanta. Zack Greinke was the loser despite yielding just one run and three hits over seven innings.
— The Nationals won for the ninth time in 12 games by thumping the Braves, 8-3 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmerman hit consecutive homers in a four-run fourth that helped Rookie Jefry Rodriguez get his first major league win. Rodriguez got his first big league hit, scored once and gave up a run and three hits over five innings.
— Ender Inciarte gave the Braves a split of the twinbill by lining a tiebreaking, two-run triple in the ninth inning of a 3-1 victory at Nationals Park. Charlie Culberson tied it with a solo shot in the sixth, five innings after rookie Juan Soto hit his 14th home run of the season. Jesse Biddle struck out four of the five batters he faced and improved to 3-0.
— Mike Montgomery and three relievers combined on a six-hitter as the Cubs blanked the Royals, 5-0. Montgomery scattered four hits over six innings for Chicago, which leads the NL Central by 2 1/2 games over Milwaukee. David Bote laced a two-run triple in the first to open the scoring and added a RBI single in the fifth.
— The Brewers squandered a 4-0 lead as the Padres scored in each of the last seven innings of an 11-5 romp at Milwaukee. Manuel Margot fell a double shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with a solo homer, an RBI triple, a two-run single and five RBIs. Hunter Renfroe and Franmil Reyes also homered for the Padres, who have won two straight since dropping nine of 10.
— Mitch Moreland belted a three-run homer while the Red Sox scored five times in the 10th inning of their fifth consecutive win, 10-7 at Toronto. Jackie Bradley Jr. added a two-run homer later in the 10th and Moreland finished with four RBIs for Boston. Bosox slugger J.D. Martinez also had four RBIs and slammed his major league-leading 34th home run, a three-run blast in the eighth.
— The Red Sox still lead the AL East by nine games over the Yankees after Miguel Andujar homered and singled in the go-ahead run in the 13th inning of New York’s 4-3 victory against the White Sox. Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run shot as New York won its second straight following a five-game skid. After Stanton’s homer made it 3-1 in the 10th, Jose Abreu hit a two-run homer against Zach Britton in the bottom half to extend the game.
— Mitch Garver’s three-run homer in the second inning was enough offense for the Twins in a 3-2 victory at Cleveland. Adalberto Mejia held the AL Central leaders to one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings before the Minnesota bullpen completed a six-hitter. Francisco Lindor hit an eighth-inning homer for the Indians, who top their division by nine games over the Twins.
— Matt Carpenter’s 30th home run of the season broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning of the Cardinals’ 3-2 victory against the Marlins. Carpenter has homered 13 times in his last 22 games to take over the National League lead by one over Colorado’s Nolan Arenado. Miami led 2-0 until Paul DeJong hit a two-run blast in the seventh.
— Jurrickson Profar slammed a three-run homer and Rougned Odor added a two-run shot and four RBIs as the Rangers ripped the Mariners, 11-4. Adrian Beltre also went deep and Bartolo Colon worked seven innings in his 246th career victory, making him the winningest Latin American-born pitcher in major league history. Seattle is 7 ½ games off the AL West leading following its sixth loss in seven games.
— Shohei Ohtani cracked a three-run homer while the Angels scored seven times in the first inning to a 11-5 thrashing of the Tigers. Francisco Arcia capped the first-inning eruption with a two-run single and Justin Upton added a two-run blast in the sixth. Jeimer Candelerio belted a two-run homer and had three RBIs for Detroit.
— Tampa Bay pulled out a 4-3 win over the Orioles on a walk-off homer by Willy Adames in the bottom of the ninth. The Rays trailed 3-1 in the eighth before scoring on a wild pitch and a double-play grounder. Adames and Matt Duffy each had two of the Rays’ six hits.
— Phillip Ervin launched a two-run homer and had three RBIs to back Sal Romano in the Reds’ 6-1 win against the Mets. Dilson Herrera also homered and Romano limited New York to a run and two hits over six innings. Jason Vargas was chased during a three-run first, leaving him 2-8 with an 8.75 ERA.