Morin remembers Skaggs after Angels' no-no

CLEVELAND -- Twins reliever Mike Morin has experienced firsthand how the stars had previously aligned to create a special moment for Tyler Skaggs, his friend and former Angels teammate.

Last December, after Skaggs and then-fiancee Carli had chosen their wedding venue in the hills of Malibu, Calif., the wildfires that ravaged Southern California tore through the area and left a swath of destruction that somehow spared the venue and allowed for the wedding to proceed as planned.

"Basically, the entire area was just devastated by the fires except for their small little venue," Morin said. "I mean, it's crazy stuff, right?"

So it came as no surprise to Morin that the world, again, found a way to honor his friend on Friday. Angels right-handers Taylor Cole and Felix Pena combined for a no-hitter at Angel Stadium on an unforgettable night when Skaggs' mother threw a perfect strike for a ceremonial first pitch and all of Skaggs' former teammates donned his No. 45 jersey in his memory.

Morin is convinced that there's a higher power looking out for his friend.

"Their story and how they pulled off the wedding was nothing short of a miracle," he said. "So I'm not really surprised about what happened last night, either."

Morin and his fiancee, Amy Nece, were close to Skaggs and his wife, Carli, from the start.

Morin was teammates with Skaggs from 2014-17, the first four years of his Major League career. He still remembers when Tyler and Carli began dating and how they all became like an extended family, along with former Angels right-hander Garrett Richards.

When Morin and Nece returned to Southern California on Sunday for the All-Star break, they spent several hours with Carli on Monday as part of her expansive support system.

And that's why, when Morin and the Twins wrapped up their 5-3 win over the Indians at Progressive Field on Friday, Nece was 2,000 miles away in a suite with Carli and the Skaggs family, as Morin checked in to see how the game in Skaggs' honor was playing out.

"Hey, how is it?" Morin asked. "How was it?"

"It’s really awesome," Nece replied. "They have a no-hitter going."

At that point, it was around the sixth inning, and Morin was able to eat, shower and get back to the team hotel in time to watch the end of the game on his phone. He'll never forget the image of the No. 45 jerseys carefully arranged on the Angel Stadium mound following the game.

"That was pretty special," Morin said. "To see it kind of go down like that, with everyone to put their jerseys on the mound, that will be the snapshot that I would take from this."

Morin has struggled with feeling disconnected from the events of the last two weeks and his friends and former teammates because he is no longer with the Angels. That's something that he and teammates C.J. Cron and Blake Parker have navigated together in the Twins' clubhouse.

But Morin feels that part of him was there in Anaheim, through Nece, on Friday night, as Skaggs was honored with a day that couldn't have been scripted any more perfectly.

"It's kind of hard to fully grasp how special of a day, how special of a game it is. Watching the video tribute -- a minute and 45 seconds -- and the moment of silence, they did a tremendous job," Morin said. "Rightfully so. And them all wearing Skaggs jerseys. Like I said, the one thing I will forever remember is those jerseys on the mound.

"To be able to see the impact that someone has on someone has probably been the silver lining that I’ve taken away from it. You don’t really realize how big of an impact as a baseball player that platform creates. So whether it’s hundreds or thousands or millions of people that have heard nothing but great things about Tyler Skaggs, that has been cool to witness."