Skaggs close to Corbin’s heart
The Nationals’
When he stood on the mound in the bullpen for the last of his warmup tosses and absorbed the moment of silence for Tyler Skaggs, Patrick Corbin did so wearing Skaggs’ No. 45 on his back.
When he went to the mound to make his start Tuesday night for the Nationals, Corbin bent over, reached with his left hand and scratched that number, 45, into the dirt on the back side, where it might last the whole game against the Marlins.
“He’s just,” Corbin said later, each word a struggle, “all I’m thinking about.”
In 2009, Skaggs, a lefty from California, was taken with the 40th pick in Major League Baseball’s draft by the Angels, exactly 40 picks before the Angels selected Patrick Corbin, a lefty from New York via community college in Florida. In 2010, those two pitchers — by then, friends — were traded together to Arizona. In April 2012, Corbin made his big league debut. In August 2012, Skaggs — by then, an even better buddy — followed.
On Monday, Skaggs, 27, was found unresponsive at the Angels’ team Arlington, Texas.
On Tuesday, pitched.
“When you have a loss, you want to keep things as normal as you can and just try to go out there and do what you have to do,” Corbin said.
And so, half a country away, with his friend inexplicably dead, 7:05 p.m. arrived, and Corbin threw his first pitch.
“It’s hard,” said Gerardo Parra, a National now, but once an Arizona teammate of both Skaggs and Corbin. “But Corbin, he’s a professional guy.” hotel in Corbin
All-Stars: Three injured All-Stars have been replaced on the AL roster for next week’s game in Cleveland. Angels 2B and first-time All-Star Tommy La Stella was replaced a day after fouling a ball of his shin. A CT scan on La Stella revealed a right tibia fracture. A typical timeline to return from this injury is eight to 10 weeks. La Stella was supposed to be replaced by the Rays’ Brandon Lowe. But Lowe’s status also is questionable because of a right leg injury. Lowe also fouled a ball off his leg and left a game Tuesday night. The Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts takes over as the designated hitter for the Rangers’ Hunter Pence. Jose Berrios will fill in for fellow Twins RHP Jake Odorizzi.
Phillies: Domestic assault charges against OF Odubel Herrera were dismissed after his girlfriend declined to press charges. Herrera must complete counseling within 60 days as a condition of the dismissal. Major League Baseball said afterward that Herrera will remain on administrative leave through Friday, when his case will be reevaluated. Herrera, an All-Star in 2016, is hitting .222 with one home run and 16 RBIs in 39 games this season.
Nationals: Stephen Strasburg struck out 14 in 7 1⁄3 shutout innings and Brian Dozier and Matt Adams homered in a 3-1 win over the Marlins. The Nationals have won seven of eight and are 25-10 since May 24 . ... All-Star RHP Max Scherzer landed on the paternity list. Scherzer and his wife, Erica, are expecting the birth of their second child.
Dodgers: LHP Rich Hill was transferred to the 60day injured list with a left forearm strain. Hill, 39, went on the IL on June 20. He is 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA in 10 starts this season. The Dodgers acquired RHP Casey Sadler from the Rays for RHP Nathan Witt. Sadler was added to the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
White Sox: Dylan Cease threw five innings in a winning his major-league debut in a 7-5 victory over the Tigers in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. Cease, 23, acquired from the crosstown Cubs for Jose Quintana in 2017, gave up three runs and four hits, struck out six and walked four.
Rays: 1B Ji-Man Choi landed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left ankle and INF Mike Brosseau was recalled from Triple-A Durham. Choi is hitting .266 with nine homers and 33 RBIs in 70 games. He has just eight hits in his last 46 at-bats.
Reds: Sonny Gray struck out 12 in eight innings and Yasiel Puig hit his 19th homer in a 3-0 victory over the Brewers . ... 2B Scooter Gennett left after striking out in his second at-bat. Gennett was activated from the injured list last week after recovering from a severe groin injury suffered during spring training. He is 2-for-19 with a pair of singles in five games.
Yankees: Television play-by-play announcer Michael Kay will have surgery to correct an issue with his vocal cord, keeping him out of the broadcast booth for at least a month.