SURPRISE, Ariz. — Last spring, Chad Bettis was battling cancer. This spring, he’s all about baseball.
The Rockies’ right-hander pitched two strong innings in his first Cactus League start Sunday, mixing his pitches well. Bettis walked Rangers leadoff man Rougned Odor, but then cut down the next six batters on just 19 pitches.
Bettis struck out Robinson Chirinos on a curveball, then fanned Trevor Plouffe looking at another curve.
“Fastball command is everything to me, and I went out there trying to get that down,” Bettis said. “The first guy got away from me a little bit, but then I settled in pretty good.