Cooper Stone throws out the first pitch before Game 1 - MLB

6-year-old Cooper Stone, the son of the firefighter who died falling out of the stands at Rangers Ballpark on July 7, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Friday’s ALDS Game 1 against the Rays.

It was Stone’s first trip back to park since he attended the game at which his father, Shannon, died. Wearing a Josh Hamilton jersey, Cooper got to throw the pitch to his favorite player crouched about halfway to home plate and threw a perfect strike.

“They have turned a difficult return to The Ballpark into a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Cooper,” widow Jenny Stone said in a statement issued by the team. “Nothing could be more exciting for a boy than throwing out the first pitch to his favorite player. We are glad and grateful to be here to see the Rangers start their march to the World Series.”

Hamilton was the player who tossed the ball into stands when Shannon Stone was killed. He got to meet both Cooper and Jenny for the first time today.

“The Lord gave me words at the right time,” he said. “I’m not good with speeches. Not good with knowing what I’m going to say before. Because I rehearse it too much and it don’t sound genuine. So I just kind of let it happen. It worked out good. … You could tell she was really emotional about coming back to the park. The little one, he’s young enough where he understands but at the same time it’s not as emotional for him as it is mom.”

The Rangers are erecting a statue of Shannon and Cooper that is set to be revealed next season.

CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”