Friday night in Anaheim we were reminded there are things much bigger than baseball.
The Angels threw a combined no-hitter against the Mariners (LAA 13, SEA 0) in their first home game since the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs. Every Angel wore a No. 45 SKAGGS jersey during the game, after which they placed it on the mound.
Here's the video:
"For us, I would say it's probably like emotionally therapeutic," Angels lefty Andrew Heaney told reporters, including ESPN's Alden Gonzalez, following the game. "After the game, you run out to the field, everybody's celebrating. And three hours earlier, I don't know about everybody else, but I had tears in my eyes."
The no-hitter was reminiscent of Dee Gordon's lead-off home run in the first Marlins game following Jose Fernandez's tragic death three years ago. It was Gordon's only home run that season, and it was one of those moments that makes you believe the unbelievable.
Gordon was in Seattle's lineup for the combined no-hitter -- he grounded back to pitcher Felix Pena for the 26th out -- and, after the game, he was asked to compare the no-hitter to his Fernandez home run three years ago.
#Mariners 2B Dee Gordon : "I got one thing to say and I'm going be done with it. If you don't believe in God, you might want to start. I said it three years ago when I hit the homer for Jose (Fernandez). They had a no-hitter today. Y'all better start. That's all I got."
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) July 13, 2019
Whatever your faith, baseball never seems to fail to deliver in moments like this. Be it the Angels no-hitter for Skaggs, Gordon's home run for Fernandez, or Bobby Murcer's walk-off following Yankees catcher Thurman Munson's death in 1979, baseball always brings everyone together after moments of tragedy.
