LOS ANGELES — The excitement surrounding Tarik Skubal’s move to Los Angeles reached a crescendo Monday night as the two-time Cy Young Award winner made his highly anticipated home debut at Chavez Ravine.
Acquired from the Tigers on Aug. 1, Skubal worked five innings in his Dodger Stadium debut, allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out six on 95 pitches in a 6-5 victory over the Royals.
Skubal’s arrival brought plenty of energy to the home crowd, but the left-hander was tested early as he worked to find his location against the top of the Royals’ lineup.
Kansas City struck in the opening frame when Nick Loftin singled on a 98.5 mph fastball and Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a fielder’s choice before stealing second. Jac Caglianone capitalized, driving an RBI single on a 97.8 mph sinker to give the Royals an early 1-0 lead.
After bouncing back with a scoreless second, Skubal encountered his biggest threat in the third. Loftin struck again with a one-out double before Caglianone launched a line-drive two-run home run to right-center on a 91.5 mph slider, expanding the Royals’ lead to 3-0.
Despite early difficulty landing his fastballs consistently in his spots, Skubal settled down in the middle frames. He retired the side in order on just seven pitches in the fourth — striking out Michael Massey swinging on a 98.6 mph four-seamer — and fought through traffic in a scoreless fifth, capping his outing by striking out Caglianone on an 88.6 mph changeup with two runners aboard.
Following the game, Skubal acknowledged the adrenaline of pitching in front of the home crowd for the first time.
“I’d be lying [if I said I didn’t feel nerves],” Skubal said postgame. “I think nerves are a good thing. The day I’m pitching and I don’t have nerves is probably the day I retire, because I think having nerves just means you care. … This one was special to me. The nerves were a little bit higher, but it just means you care.”
“I just kind of sprayed the ball a little bit. That’s kind of unusual for me, especially with fastball command,” Skubal noted. “But I thought I competed well and gave our team a chance to win. Our offense picked me up big time, defense picked me up big time, and the bullpen was outstanding tonight. So all in all, a good team win, especially when I don’t feel like I performed up to my standard.”
Catching Skubal for the first time after being reacquired by the Dodgers from the Rays at the Trade Deadline, Hunter Feduccia came away impressed with the southpaw’s aggressive gameplan, emphasizing learning Skubal’s tendencies and growing together as a duo moving forward.
“I was very impressed by his arsenal and how he goes about hitters,” Feduccia said. “He got into some deep counts right there and he executed, made some big pitches. … He has a great idea of what he wants to do to hitters and he’s very adamant about his attack. For the most part, I thought we were on the same page. So I’m excited to get to work with him coming forward.”
Skubal’s work on the mound received high praise from manager Dave Roberts, who before the game noted how unique the left-hander’s mindset is as he settles into Los Angeles on a mission to capture his first World Series title.
“He’s as different as anyone I’ve ever been around in this short period of time,” Roberts said pregame. “He’s just built differently — the mind, the body, the focus, the humility, the willingness to serve and help. … This guy is something like I’ve never seen.”
Postgame, Roberts attributed some of Skubal’s command issues to the heightened emotion of the milestone start, emphasizing his appreciation for how the ace handled himself on the bench.
“I do think that first home start, there’s some emotions that bleed into it,” Roberts said. “I think that there was an overexertion, which resulted in the fastball being more sprayed. I think we’re going to see a different guy as far as performance on Sunday. … But I like the way he came back on the bench. Sometimes when it doesn’t go well, people kind of hide. It’s a tell when you can still show your face and be around.”
