ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Most of the Los Angeles Angels struggled to sleep on Friday night. They were still processing the events that unfolded, still too emotional coming off a game that, for some, evoked sentiments of a higher power. Andrelton Simmons, the team's shortstop, was an exception. He slept more soundly than he had in the 11 nights since the tragic death of his friend and teammate, Tyler Skaggs, because of a comforting presence he couldn't quite place.
Simmons relived those events the following afternoon and stammered often, struggling to contextualize the Angels' ability to no-hit the Mariners while wearing Skaggs' jersey -- in their first home game since his passing, mere hours before what would have been his 28th birthday.