On his birthday, Angels put nohitter ball in Skaggs’ locker
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The shrine that has become Tyler Skaggs’ locker in the Los Angeles clubhouse had a new addition Saturday — the ball from the final out of the no-hitter the Angels pitched while wearing their late teammate’s jersey.
As they prepared to face Seattle on what would have been Skaggs’ 28th birthday, the Angels were still trying to take in everything that transpired a day earlier in a remarkable 13-0 victory.
Taylor Cole started with two perfect innings and Félix Peña held the Mariners hitless the rest of the way in the Angels’ first home game since Skaggs was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Texas on July 1.
Cole was wearing a Tshirt with Skaggs’ catchphrase — “We’re Nasty” — in the clubhouse before the game. He said he was still hyped up after the win. “I feel great to have been a part of history and helping this city cope a little bit,” he said. “When you can comfort and help people heal, and help people realize that there is something more to this than baseball, everybody is going to be OK.”
Catcher Dustin Garneau said he still had over 100 text messages on his phone that he hadn’t had a chance to look at after being behind the plate.
“Honestly, it was what we needed and hopefully what his family needed to where it kind of gives them some solace. For us it brought us all together,” he said. “After the game we were all sitting at our lockers and were still in shock. It was really cool to see it happen.”
It was the first combined no-hitter thrown in a game in California since July 13, 1991, which was the day Skaggs was born. That wasn’t the only numerological coincidence. The Angels scored seven runs in the first and finished with 13 for the game — 7/13, like his birthday.
Mike Trout’s first-inning home run traveled 454 feet, matching Skaggs’ No. 45 jersey.
“I’ve seen all the numbers that surrounded the game. It’s pretty remarkable,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “You don’t know if you really could even script it. You’d have to have a wild imagination to script that.”
The Angels went back to wearing their regular jerseys on Saturday, but Skaggs’ red No. 45 was still hanging in the third-base dugout. The makeshift memorial of flowers and other tokens of remembrance were still outside the home plate gate at Angels Stadium. A short video remembering Skaggs’ birthday was played midway thru the first inning.
While Friday’s game was emotional, starting with Skaggs’ mother Debbie throwing out the first pitch, many of the players said it provided them with a sense of normalcy. Shortstop Andrelton Simmons said it was the first time he had slept well since Skaggs’ death.
“It was very comforting from the last couple weeks,” he said. “Every once in a while you try to move on, try to move past the fact. It is still difficult at times but you have to.”
BOSTON — Justin Turner had three extra-base hits, two of them off Chris Sale to continue the Red Sox left-hander’s struggles at Fenway Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped a four-game losing streak with an 11-2 victory over Boston in a rematch of last year’s World Series.
Cody Bellinger moved into a tie for the major league lead with his 31st homer — one of four hit by the Dodgers, who had lost seven straight at Fenway (including Games 1 and 2 of the Series) after dropping the series opener on Friday night.
Sale (3-9) knows how they feel, going more than 12 months without winning a regular-season start in Boston.
Sale allowed five runs for the third straight outing — a career first — giving up seven hits, a walk and a hit batter to drop his record to 0-3 in 13 Fenway starts since his last win there on July 11, 2018. He gave up Turner’s leadoff homer in the third that made it 2-0 and then an RBI double to start the scoring in the Dodgers’ three-run third inning.
With a large and vocal Los Angeles contingent in the crowd, Ross Stripling (4-3) allowed one run — Xander Bogaerts’ 19th homer — on four hits, striking out seven to snap Boston’s five-game winning streak. Bellinger, who turned 24 on Saturday, and A.J. Pollock hit back-to-back homers off knuckleballer Steven Wright in the seventh for the Dodgers, who lead the majors with 61 victories.
The next batter, Max Muncy, lined one off Wright’s foot to knock him out of the game.
OLD FRIENDS
Ex-Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly reliever Stripling to start the sixth with a 5-1 lead and gave up a flare single to Bogaerts that brought in one run. With two on, he threw an extremely high wild pitch to put runners on second and third, then worked a full count to Christian Vázquez.
Vázquez fouled off a pair of pitches before fanning on a 99 mph fastball to end the inning.
CATCHING FLAK
With Sale pitching to his regular catcher Sandy León, Red Sox manager Alex Cora put Vázquez at first base to keep his bat in the lineup. He had a tough time.
In the fourth inning, Corey Seager hit a sharp grounder to first and Vázquez wheeled to throw to second to get the lead runner. The relay from Bogaerts at shortstop came back to first, where second baseman Brock Holt was covering.
Vázquez, who was in the area but a step or more away from the bag, nabbed the throw, but needed a second before realizing he had to hustle to tag the base before Seager got there.
There was no damage done, but that wasn’t the case in the Dodgers’ fourrun eighth. With Muncy on first, Seager hit a slow roller back to the mound for the 1-3 putout; Muncy headed to third, which was uncovered because of the shift.
Vázquez threw behind third baseman Rafael Devers as he raced to the bag, the ball went into left and Muncy scored to make it 8-2.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: Manager Dave Roberts said LHP Scott Alexander is still not ready to return from left forearm inflammation. He wasn’t on the injured list June 11 and remains in Arizona. “This has taken longer than expected,” Roberts said.
Red Sox: 1B Mitch Moreland (right quadriceps strain, June 8) was “a little bit tight,” Cora, and did not play in his rehab assignment on Friday. He’s now scheduled to make an appearance for Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday . ... RHP Nathan Eovaldi (loose body, right elbow) was scheduled to pitch to live batters on Monday.
UP NEXT
The teams complete their three-game series on Sunday night, with Red Sox lefty David Price (7-2) facing All-Star Game starter Hyun-Jin Ryu (10-2).