Los Angeles Angels pitcher Andrew Heaney honored the memory of his teammate Tyler Skaggs on Saturday with a special first pitch in his first start since his friend’s tragic death last week.
Heaney etched “RIP 45” into the mound in tribute to Skaggs before opening up with a slow-pitch curveball – Skaggs’ specialty – against the Houston Astros. Heaney’s curve landed outside the zone but that that didn’t take away the meaning behind the pitch.
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“That was his calling card, that was his claim to fame,” Heaney told the Orange County Register of Skaggs’ wicked curveball. “I thought it would be kind of cool. Honestly, it was just something that felt right.”
Heaney, who was teammates with Skaggs since 2015, practiced the pitch a couple of times while warming up. He told catcher Dustin Garneau to warn Astro’s leadoff hitter George Springer about the tribute. Springer took the pitch and stepped off the plate.
“It’s an honor to be a part of it and I hope he got something out of it,” Springer told the Register. “It’s just a good moment for our sport.”
The Astros observed a moment of silence before the game to honor the late 27-year-old. The team also planned to donate the proceeds of their charity raffle on Friday night to the Angels Baseball Foundation.
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The Angels went on to edge out the Astros’ 5-4, their third win in four games since Skaggs was found dead in his hotel room on July 1.
Mike Trout hit his American League-leading 26th homer, and Kole Calhoun, Shohei Ohtani and Andrelton Simmons also went deep against Justin Verlander to snap the Astro’s five-game winning streak.
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"Obviously, it's good to get back into things, but we're still thinking about him," Trout said. "He's watching over us and (we're) just going out there playing for him."
Skagg’s cause of death wasn’t immediately known. The results of an autopsy are set to be released in October.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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