Brad Pitt who played Billy Beane in Moneyball said “How can you not be romantic about baseball?” which may seem like a strange question, but the Los Angeles Angels answered that question with their victory tonight against the Seattle Mariners. The 13-0 win was more than a win, pitchers Taylor Cole and Felix Peña threw a combined no-hitter through nine innings which were historic.
On the night the @angels honoured the late Tyler Skaggs, Felix Pena and Taylor Cole combined to throw a no-hitter vs the @Mariners ?
What a moment ??? pic.twitter.com/0juy4Q4Zsz
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 13, 2019
The most electrifying and heartwarming part of it all was that all of the Angels players wore No.45 Tyler Skaggs jerseys to honor their teammate who passed away recently. On top of the jerseys, Skaggs’s mother Debbie Skaggs was in attendance to throw out the first pitch to Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney.
In their first home game since Tyler Skaggs’ passing, the @Angels pay tribute to their teammate and friend. ? pic.twitter.com/8PniYKPjEn
— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2019
In the first home-game that the Angels have played since the passing of Skaggs, Cole and Peña delivered the Angels nine no-hit innings of baseball. This was the thirteenth combined no-hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, happening for the first time this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers having the most recent combined no-hitter in 2018. This was the second time the Angels franchise has thrown a combined no-hitter, it was done in 1990 by Mark Langston and Mike Witt who (coincidentally) no-hit the Mariners in a 1-0 victory.
When it comes to stats, Cole threw the first two innings striking out two batters and then Peña threw seven innings striking out six batters and walking one. The perfect game remained intact until the fifth inning when Peña issued the walk that broke it up. The offense was locked in and showed it early with an absolute bomb by Mike Trout that sent the ball 454 feet on a night where the Angels honored number “45”.
Mike Trout went yard in Tyler Skaggs’ jersey. pic.twitter.com/rOQ2pq9yk4
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 13, 2019
This, this is how someone can be romantic about baseball, watching a team come together to honor a fallen teammate by making history and leaving a mark that lasts forever on the game of baseball.
