Taillon has solid outing in return from cancer surgery

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Jameson Taillon walked off the mound for the final time Monday night, sat in the dugout and felt fortunate to have pitched once again in the major leagues.

Taillon worked five scoreless innings in his return from treatments for testicular cancer and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2.

“I Just got to step back and enjoy the moment and realize that I was back,” Taillon said. “It was special to see all my teammates. The Pirates, the coaches, the medical staff, management, the players, everyone was with me every step. It was special.”

Taillon (3-1) allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five. The 25-year-old had surgery May 8, four days after losing to the Reds at Cincinnati, then made three rehab starts in the minor leagues.

“He pitched well,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “His command wasn’t anything close to what we’ve seen in the past. He went out there and he pitched. It was fun to watch. He had to roll up his sleeves and go to work.”

Josh Harrison hit a two-run home run, his eighth, in the first inning off Kyle Freeland (7-4). Harrison, David Freese and Jose Osuna each had two hits for the Pirates.

Freeland, a rookie, lost for the first time in seven road starts by giving up five runs (four earned) and nine hits in 52/3 innings. Freeland failed to pitch the past the sixth inning for just the second time in his last 10 starts and allowed a home run in a sixth consecutive outing.

“The sinker is my bread-and-butter pitch, especially against right-handed hitters, and they figured out the movement on it pretty quickly and barreled them up,” Freeland said.

The NL West-leading Rockies dropped their second straight game following a seven-game winning streak. Pittsburgh won its third straight.

Freese hit an RBI double and scored on Andrew McCutchen’s single in the third, extending the Pirates’ lead to 4-0.

The Rockies got their first run in the sixth when Trevor Story broke an 0-for-15 skid with an RBI single, but the Pirates countered with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to break the game open at 7-1.