The Sports Xchange
Jun 12, 2017
PITTSBURGH -- Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon, returning to the mound five weeks to the day after undergoing surgery to treat testicular cancer, pitched five scoreless innings in Pittsburgh's 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday.
Taillon (3-1) hadn't pitched since May 4 and underwent surgery on May 8, but after three rehab starts, he was ready to get back into major league competition.
The 25-year-old Florida native struck out the first two batters he faced and wound up fanning five, walking two and allowing five hits on 82 pitches.
The Pirates' offense provided Taillon with plenty of support. They got things started in the first inning as Josh Harrison hit his eighth home run of the season. Max Moroff walked to get the inning started before Harrison put a 1-1 pitch from Kyle Freeland into the seats for a quick 2-0 lead.
Pittsburgh added two more in the fourth. Harrison reached on a throwing error by Colorado shortstop Trevor Story and scored on David Freese's double. Two batters later, Andrew McCutchen drove in Freese with a single.
Harrison went 2-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. In that streak, he is hitting .395 with four RBIs. Freese and Jose Osuna added two hits apiece.
Gregory Polanco singled in Moroff in the sixth to chase Freeland (7-4), who gave up five runs (four earned) and allowed a season-high nine hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
John Jaso drew a bases-loaded walk and Moroff hit a sacrifice fly to score two more runs in the seventh.
Colorado's Ian Desmond doubled and scored on Story's single off Pirates reliever Wade LeBlanc in the sixth. Pat Valaika doubled and scored on a DJ LeMahieu groundout in the ninth.
NOTES: To clear a spot for RHP Jameson Taillon's move from the disabled list to the 25-man roster, the Pirates optioned INF Phil Gosselin to Triple-A Indianapolis. Since being recalled on June 2, Gosselin had appeared in five games and gone 1-for-8 with one RBI and two strikeouts. He is hitting .135 on the season. ... The Pirates selected RHP Shane Baz from Concordia Luther High School in Tomball, Texas, with the No. 12 pick in the first round of the draft. Colorado didn't have a first-round pick. ... Rockies SS Trevor Story singled in the sixth inning to snap an 0-for-13 skid. Story is hitting .194. ... Colorado CF Charlie Blackmon went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Blackmon is hitting .337 on the season and is 17-for-39 (.436) in his current streak.