The Los Angeles Angels will honor Tyler Skaggs by wearing a patch with the pitcher's No. 45 on their uniforms for the rest of the season.
Skaggs, a much-loved member of the team, was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Texas on Monday. A cause of death has not been determined, but police say they do not suspect suicide or foul play.
On Tuesday night, when the Angels returned to play after postponing Monday's game against the Texas Rangers, they wore a black, encircled patch with No. 45 above the heart on their uniforms. The No. 45 was painted on the back of the mound at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, and Angels pitchers Andrew Heaney and Cam Bedrosian held up Skaggs' No. 45 jersey before the game, during a moment of silence for him.
The team tweeted out a photo on Wednesday of the patch that will be worn the rest of the season.
For the remainder of the season, we will wear this patch to honor Tyler Skaggs. pic.twitter.com/x3PAoVdUdJ
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) July 3, 2019
"Yesterday was probably the toughest, one of the toughest games I've played in a long ... ever," Mike Trout, a close friend of Skaggs', said Wednesday.
Jaime Barria filled Skaggs' roster spot.
"This game was totally dedicated to Tyler," Barria said Wednesday through an interpreter. "I'm going to miss him. Totally great guy."
With the team out of town, fans went to Angel Stadium, where they left flowers, hats, baseballs, signs, photos and other memorabilia in a makeshift memorial mound.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
