Davis makes successful return from cancer surgery

ATLANTA (TICKER) —Arizona Diamondbacks lefthander Doug Davis made a triumphant return from his battle with thyroid cancer Friday, tossing seven strong innings in an 11-1 rout of the Atlanta Braves.

Davis returned to the mound less than six weeks after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous thyroid, allowing one run and five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. The southpaw threw 53 of his 89 pitches for strikes.

“It felt great,” Davis said. “It was kind of hard to control the emotions at the start. It was exciting to be back and to throw your pitches and get out there.”

“He came back right where he left off,” Arizona manager Bob Melvin said. “He downplays it and calls himself a regular guy, but when he took the mound, he had to have goose bumps.”

He improved to 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three starts this season.

“You’re talking about a life-threatening illness,” Braves catcher Brian McCann said. “To overcome that and be back on the field so early, we all in here tip our hats to him. It was a stellar performance.”

The 32-year-old Davis cleared the final hurdle in his recovery on May 8, when a CT scan showed that his cancer had not spread. Doctors then determined there was no cancer remaining in his body.

Davis continued to pitch for the Diamondbacks after being diagnosed with the condition during spring training. He made his last start before surgery on April 8, when he tossed six effective innings in a 10-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Davis underwent four hours of surgery on April 10 and began therapy that removed the cancer from his body. He also had radiation iodine therapy in early May but did not experience the loss of energy often associated with the radiation pill.

A 10-year veteran, Davis followed his first rehab start on May 10 with an outing on Sunday for Class AAA Tucson, throwing 92 pitches in five innings.

“I said I wanted to be back on the mound by the 10th,” Davis said. “I was back on the mound on the 10th, but in the minor leagues. … I knew I made it back when I had my two rehab starts. It’s good to be back on the major-league level.”

Davis went 13-12 with a 4.25 ERA last year, his first with Arizona. In 232 career games with the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers and Diamondbacks, Davis is 77-76 with a 4.32 ERA.