Patrick Corbin will wear Tyler Skaggs’ No. 45 on Tuesday in tribute to fallen friend

When Washington Nationals starter Patrick Corbin takes the mound on Tuesday, he’ll be honoring his friend, Tyler Skaggs, who passed away on Monday.

Corbin, who normally wears No. 46, will pay tribute to Skaggs by wearing his No. 45 in Tuesday’s start.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez says Patrick Corbin will wear No. 45 to honor deceased former teammate Tyler Skaggs in his start tonight.

“They came up together. His best friend. He was emotional earlier. But he wants to pitch. He feels that’s what he needs to do.”

— Gabe Lacques (@GabeLacques) July 2, 2019

Skaggs and Corbin were together for much of their early careers. In that time, they formed a tight bond.

Tom Kotchman, who managed the pair in rookie ball, spoke about the friendship between Skaggs and Corbin and on Tuesday.

Tom Kotchman, who managed Tyler Skaggs and Patrick Corbin together in rookie ball, considered the pair to be inseparable, like twins. “It’s probably a good thing they didn’t have lockers next to each other,” Kotchman said this morning. https://t.co/gm1entvCjf

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) July 2, 2019

Skaggs and Corbin were both drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2009 and were sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the same trade in 2011. It wasn’t until after the 2013 season — when Skaggs was sent back to the Angels — that the two played in different organizations.

Corbin is a veteran starter and has had many different experiences on the mound. Still, we can only imagine that this will easily be the most emotional outing of his career.