Angels honor Skaggs with amazing game
ANAHEIM » When the Los Angeles Angels think about Tyler Skaggs in the months and years ahead, Andrew Heaney is grateful they’ll have the memory of one incredible night to assuage their sadness.
With Skaggs’ name and No. 45 on all of their jerseys Friday night, the Angels played practically perfect baseball throughout their first home game since their 27-year-old teammate’s death. After they completed a combined no-hitter and a 13-0 victory over Seattle, the Angels gathered on the field and placed those No. 45 jerseys on the mound until it was more red than brown.
The Angels then stood reverently in a circle to pay one more tribute to the ebullient, lanky left-hander who definitely would have called them nasty.
“For us, it’s emotionally therapeutic,” said Heaney, Skaggs’ best friend and fellow starting pitcher. “After the game, we ran out on the field and everybody was celebrating. Like three hours earlier, I don’t know about everybody else, (but) I had tears in my eyes. You’re sort of reliving your bad memories, bad thoughts. Just for tonight, and maybe moving forward, it can change your mindset. When you think about him, you’re thinking about the loss of a friend, a teammate. But
COMBINED NO-HITTERS
moving forward, hopefully you think of his jersey, you think of his name, (and) it brings back positive memories.”
This too-good-for-Hollywood evening began with a touching pregame ceremony honoring Skaggs, who was found dead in his hotel room July 1 in Texas on the first morning of a road trip.
The Angels and Mariners all stood solemnly on the Big A field while Skaggs’ mother, Debbie, delivered a heartbreakingly perfect strike with her first pitch.
When the game began, the Angels were fearless and nearly flawless.
Taylor Cole opened with two perfect innings before Felix Pena pitched the game of his life, allowing just one walk in seven hitless innings. Together, they threw the 11th no-hitter in franchise history on the night before what would have been Skaggs’ 28th birthday.
“I know he’s here today, and he was looking over us, and he’s definitely a part of this,” said Cole, a 29-year-old reliever making only his 33rd career big-league appearance. “We love him, we miss him, and we’re always going to be there for him.”
The surreal details piled up as the Angels absorbed the enormity of their night.
As Mike Trout noted, they scored seven runs in the first inning and finished with 13 runs and 13 hits — and Skaggs’ birthday is 7-13 — July 13th.
The last combined no-hitter in California was thrown in Oakland on July 13, 1991 — the exact day Skaggs, a California native, was born.
“Tonight was in honor of him,” Trout said. “He was definitely looking over us tonight. He’s probably up there saying we’re nasty. What an unbelievable game to be a part of. I’m speechless. This is the best way possible to honor him tonight. It was pretty crazy.”
Trout rarely swings at the first pitch in any at-bat, yet he hit a thunderous 454-foot homer on the first pitch he saw from Seattle’s Mike Leake in the first inning. After an uncommonly slow trot around the bases, Trout pointedly looked up in the direction of Skaggs’ family in the stands.