Less than five weeks removed from surgery for testicular cancer, Jameson Taillon was back on the mound for the Pirates on Monday.
He took his rehab "step by step" and said he was excited to pitch for the first time since May 3.
"It's been an interesting process for everybody," Taillon told reporters prior to Monday's game against the Rockies, who just happen to own the best record in the National League. "It's not something we saw coming into my 2017 season."
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While Taillon wasn't great, he was solid and gave the Pirates five quality innings with five strikeouts and a pair of walks. He scattered five hits and left with the Pirates holding a 4-0 lead in what was eventually a 7-2 Pittsburgh victory.
The Pirates (29-35) are still in last place in the NL Central, but are only four games back of the first-place Brewers in the tight division.
Despite being the NL's best team, Monday's loss leaves the Rockies (41-25) just a game up on the idle Dodgers in the NL West.
But Monday was all about Taillon and his inspiring return.
Monday's MLB scores, highlights
Mets 6, Cubs 1
Braves 11, Nationals 10
Pirates 7, Rockies 2
Red Sox 6, Phillies 5, 11 innings
White Sox 10, Orioles 7
Mariners 14, Twins 3
Rangers 6, Astros 1
Padres 9, Reds 3
Yankees 5, Angels 3
Studs of the night
Jacob deGrom was dealing Monday with a 116-pitch complete game in a 6-1 win over the Cubs. He struck out Cubs catcher Willson Contreras with a 97-mph fastball on the final pitch of the game. The Mets pitcher struck out six and walked four with five hits and a home run, but forced four double plays with 13 ground-ball outs.
Braves first baseman Matt Adams had a "big city" kind of night in Washington. Adams blasted a pair of home runs and went 3 for 4 with a walk and four RBIs against the Nationals. He scored three times, including in the ninth inning as Tyler Flowers hit a go-ahead three-run homer off Matt Albers to give the Braves an 11-10 victory.
Duds of the night
The Twins may have made a splash with the first pick of the 2017 MLB Draft, but Adalberto Mejia was blasted by the Mariners. Mejia gave up eight earned runs off nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings in a 14-3 Mariners victory. Mejia's ERA went from 4.18 to 5.75 with the short outing.
Not quite as bad as Mejia was Orioles starter Wade Miley, who was pulled after 2 1/3 innings in a 10-7 loss to the White Sox. Miley was hit for six runs on six hits, including Kevan Smith's second-inning two-run homer. Miley walked two and did not record a strikeout.
MLB highlight
The opposite-field home run from Flowers proved to be the difference for the Braves at Nationals Park.
Tyler Flowers delivers an opposite-field three-run home run to right, giving the Braves an 11-9 lead in the top of the 9th inning!!! #ChopOn pic.twitter.com/rZjwDHhQtm
— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) June 13, 2017
What's next
Brewers (33-31) at Cardinals (29-32), 2:15, 8:15 p.m. ET — The NL Central is easily the worst division in baseball through the first three months of the season. The first-place Brewers are separated by just four games over last-place Pittsburgh and are the only team in the division over .500. The Cubs (31-32) lost to the Mets Monday and the Cardinals are just a game back of the Cubs for second place in the division. But they're also only 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee and a four-game sweep could give them an improbable division lead.