Taylor Cole hasn’t pitched in a Major League Baseball game since 2019, but one outing in particular from that season certainly sticks out.
The right-hander, who the Boston Red Sox added to their 2022 spring training roster as a non-roster invitee Wednesday, combined with Felix Peña to throw a no-hitter for the Los Angeles Angels on the night the team honored the late Tyler Skaggs, who died suddenly in his hotel room on July 1, 2019.
During the Angels’ first home game after Skaggs’ death, Cole opened the contest against the Seattle Mariners by throwing two innings with two strikeouts. He threw 13 of his 22 pitches for strikes.
The Angels honored their fallen teammate by wearing his No. 45 jersey with his last name on the back. It was a chill-inducing moment, for sure, and one Cole, nor the rest of that Angels team, will forget.
