WASHINGTON — Patrick Corbin lost one of his great friends in baseball on Monday. Tuesday, he will honor him by dropping his jersey number by one.
Corbin, the Washington Nationals’ lefty starter, will wear No. 45 in honor of Tyler Skaggs in his start against the Miami Marlins, manager Dave Martinez said.
Corbin and Skaggs were drafted together by the Los Angeles Angels in 2009, traded together to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a deal for Dan Haren in 2010, and then split apart when the Angels reacquired Skaggs in a three-team trade before the 2014 season.
Skaggs, 27, died Monday afternoon in a Dallas-area hotel room before the Angels began a series against the Texas Rangers. Authorities in Texas have for now ruled out foul play and suicide as causes of death; autopsy results are pending.
Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin will wear No. 45 Tuesday night to honor his friend Tyler Skaggs. (Photo: Brad Mills, USA TODAY Sports)
Corbin left Arizona after last season and signed a six-year, $140 million deal with the Nationals. He usually wears No. 46.
Not Tuesday. Corbin will pause with the rest of Nationals Park for a moment of silence 15 minutes before game time.
- ANGELS: Tyler Skaggs' death 'incomprehensible'
- WHAT WE KNOW:The latest on Tyler Skaggs' death
- LACQUES: Skaggs' death tragic reminder of grief's permanence
- CALI CONNECTION:Former high school teammate remembers Skaggs
“They came up together,” Martinez said of Corbin and Skaggs. “His best friend. He was emotional earlier.
“But he wants to pitch. He feels that’s what he needs to do.”
Corbin entered Tuesday's outing with a 3.71 ERA over 16 starts with 111 strikeouts.
He will be facing a Marlins team too familiar with tragedy. Ace pitcher and franchise icon Jose Fernandez was killed in a boating accident on Sept. 25, 2016, with one week left in the Marlins' season. Most of the team has been turned over via trades and other departures since then, but manager Don Mattingly still helms the squad.
"I don’t think there’s a playbook for how to do it, how to get through it," Mattingly said Tuesday. "You just try to get through the day. (Skaggs) instantly took me right back to that day. You can’t help it. It just throws you right back to that day.
"It’s really hard. It’s really hard to get back into it. There’s no way to really describe it. It’s just … going to be hard."
Follow Gabe Lacques on Twitter @GabeLacques
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