Taillon, Bettis face off after bonding over cancer battles
DENVER (AP) — The starters for Tuesday's game between Pittsburgh and Colorado reads like this: Jameson Taillon vs. Chad Bettis.
A more accurate description: Two starters bouncing back from testicular cancer.
"Both healthy. Both in the big leagues," the Pirates' Taillon said. "Life's good."
The Rockies' Bettis underwent surgery in November 2016 for testicular cancer and continued cancer treatments through that spring and into last season. So when Taillon had surgery to treat testicular cancer on May 8, 2017, he had an instant line of support.
"Baseball is a brotherhood. When something happens to our own, everyone comes together — even more so when there are two people going through the same thing," the 26-year-old Taillon said.