Tyler Skaggs had it all: An early flight home Sunday, a good night’s sleep in the same Santa Monica house he grew up in, a home-cooked breakfast Monday morning from mom.
While the 22-year-old pitcher slept through the dead of night, his Angels teammates were flying across the country. At a time when they usually work out, hit in the batting cage or eat a mid-afternoon meal, the players trudged into the home clubhouse at Angel Stadium. Batting practice was cancelled. It was tough to blame anyone for their lethargy.
Except for Skaggs. He delivered seven strong innings and the Angels held on for a 6-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians before an announced crowd of 37,654.
“I felt like I was throwing a high school game,” said Skaggs, who walked one batter and struck out six. “I haven’t slept in my own bed in years. I think five years.”
The only blemish on his record: A three-run home run by Carlos Santana in the fourth inning that accounted for the Indians’ offense.
The Angels trailed 3-1 after that, but only briefly. A two-run double by Erick Aybar in the fifth inning tied the game at 3. An RBI single by Mike Trout touched off a three-run eighth inning that gave the Angels the lead for good.
Joe Smith recorded his first save since being named the Angels’ closer with a scoreless ninth inning -- against his old team, no less. Fernando Salas (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the victory.
Although Skaggs left with a no-decision, the Angels improved to 5-0 in games he starts. This victory was unlike the others on a few levels.
“I’m used to flying with my teammates but it was different,” Skaggs said. “I flew on a nice plane. I got to watch the ESPN game on the flight so it wasn’t too bad.”
For the rest of the Angels, the MLB schedule was a made-for-TV disaster. Their final out Sunday against the New York Yankees was recorded just after 11:30 p.m. Eastern time. Losing 3-2 didn’t bring a good night’s sleep any closer.
Monday, the Indians arrived at the park before many of their jetlagged opponents. The batters were fed a steady diet of fastballs the first time through the order -- not because Angels catcher Hank Conger only had enough energy to put down one finger -- and Skaggs retired every one.
Other than eight innings in spring training, Skaggs had never thrown to Conger in a game.
“We were both feeling each other out those first few innings and I think they weren’t making adjustments to the fastball,” Skaggs said. “They weren’t putting good swings on it so I kept throwing it.”
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