Just glad to be up here pitching and I hope to get this team

[officialsbaseball]

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. “It made sense to reach out to each other and give our well-wishes and see if there’s anything we could offer up to each other.“I just felt like if I needed anything or had a question, I was very comfortable going to ask him about any part of the process.”Taillon did, too. Simple things: How often did you get your blood levels checked? What was the treatment like?“It was really nothing crazy, but that was comforting,” Taillon said. “He was months ahead of me and what I was going through. It was nice to have somebody I could ask questions.”Taillon’s eyes lit up when he heard that Bettis would come off the disabled list — Bettis has been dealing with a blister — to make the start. Bettis hadn’t been officially named the starter when the clubhouse was open Monday, but he did say how “cool” it would to face Taillon.“It will be really nice for that to happen,” said Bettis, who returned to the Rockies’ starting rotation on Aug. 14, 2017, after his recovery.Bettis hasn’t pitched for the Rockies since July 1 due to a blister on his middle finger. He’s tried every remedy, but it keeps bothering him. So the 29-year-old texted Taillon, who’s been dealing with a cut on his middle finger as well.“He had some good insight,” Bettis said. “There were a couple things he was doing, that I felt we could try and see how it worked out. It was good to get some feedback.”Taillon’s advice? Use a finger sleeve and take days off. He also told Bettis how precisely he was clipping his fingernails.“But you can see I don’t have too much great advice,” Taillon laughed, showing off his cracked finger. “I’m still working through it. I’m still battling my own thing.”It took Taillon about a month to return to the mound last season after testicular cancer surgery. In his first start back on June 12, 2017, he threw five scoreless innings as the Pirates beat the Rockies.Later that season, Taillon got a hit off Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester, a cancer survivor , and was chatting with first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager.“Rizzo looked at me and said, ‘Hey, there are three cancer survivors right here — me, you and Lester,'” Taillon recounted. “That moment was cool for me.“Facing off against Chad will be one of those cool moments.” A pair of aces enduring disappointing seasons will match up on Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City.The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals will finish off a two-game series. Kansas City won the opener 6-2 on Tuesday night behind Jakob Junis‘ first complete-game victory of his career.Detroit’s starter in the Wednesday matinee, Michael Fulmer, made his first start since the All-Star break on Friday after recovering from an oblique strain. He held the Chicago White Sox scoreless for 4 2/3 innings while throwing 77 pitches.Article continues below ...Prior to the injury, Fulmer (3-9, 4.32 ERA) went through a series of maddening starts in which he often had one bad inning while his teammates failed to provide run support. The 2016 American League Rookie of the Year hasn’t collected a victory since June 14. In his last eight starts, the Tigers have scored an average of 2.1 runs.His return outing gave him hope for better results the rest of the season.“It was a step in the right direction,” Fulmer told the Detroit News. “The mechanical adjustments I’ve made paid off.”Fulmer’s pitch count is expected to be in the 85-90 range on Wednesday. Manager Ron Gardenhire rearranged his rotation so that Fulmer can pitch every fifth day. Detroit had a day off on Monday, so Gardenhire pushed back Francisco Liriano’s next start to accommodate Fulmer.Fulmer wanted to finish out the fifth inning on Friday but understood Gardenhire’s cautious approach.“It felt good to be back,” said Fulmer, who is 2-4 with a 3.23 ERA in eight career starts against Kansas City. “Glad it was a quicker rehab than everyone expected, including myself. Just glad to be up here pitching and I hope to get this team a win next time.”Danny Duffy’s last start also came after an injury, although not quite as serious as the strain that sidelined for Fulmer for more than a month. The Royals lefty made his first start since Aug. 11 on Thursday, allowing two runs on six hits in five innings while taking a no-decision against Tampa Bay.Duffy (7-11, 4.85 ERA) made a quick return from the disabled list after dealing with shoulder tendinitis. Duffy’s fastball velocity returned to the usual 93-95 MPH range after dipping toward 90 in his previous outing.“I didn’t really have any expectations,” he told the Kansas City Star afterward. “I just wanted to go out there with plenty in the tank and be efficient. I could have been more efficient. But I did make some pitches when I needed to.”Duffy has been rocked by the Tigers in two starts this season. Detroit has piled up 13 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings in those games. He’s 7-10 with a 4.63 ERA in 24 career outings against the Tigers.However, Detroit is mired in a four-game losing streak with the other losses coming against the downtrodden Chicago White Sox.“We haven’t played well on the road,” Gardenhire said. “I don’t know why. Nothing really good has happened on the road and we’ve got to figure that out.”