Tarik Skubal keeps finding new ways to make October look easy.
The Dodgers ace was sharp again in Game 1 against the Braves, carving through Atlanta with six innings of two-hit, one-run ball to help Los Angeles take the opener. It was another clean addition to a postseason résumé that already stood out before Saturday and looked even better afterward.
Skubal’s playoff work has been elite for a while now. He entered the game with a career postseason ERA of 2.04 and 56 strikeouts in his first 39.2 innings of October baseball, including 36 strikeouts during the 2025 season. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, his regular-season numbers have been just as eye-catching: a 2.42 ERA, 171 ERA+, and 655 strikeouts across 546.0 innings.
Against Atlanta, he added another strong line to the ledger. He also came away with a clear-eyed view of the one Braves hitter who did get to him, Sean Murphy, who sent one of Skubal’s sinkers out of the yard.
"He hit a good pitch," Skubal said. "I like that pitch. I'd throw it again."
For Skubal, the outing carried a little extra meaning because it was his first playoff start in front of Dodgers fans. He said the atmosphere lived up to the moment.
"That was a ton of fun walking out here," Skubal said. "You know the similarities between boo’s and Skub are pretty close, but it was just fun to to get out in front of the fans.
"I mean, it's 105 (degrees), and we got 50,000 here, so it's it's a ton of fun."
The performance only strengthens the sense that Skubal is built for this stage. Entering Saturday, he already had the seventh-best ERA among starters with at least 35 innings pitched since the start of the divisional era in 1969. After Game 1, that case got even stronger.
And while the October spotlight is bright now, the financial picture around Skubal is about to get just as loud. His one-year, $32 million deal expires after the season, setting him up for the open market at age 29.
With two All-Star nods, two Cy Youngs, two ERA titles and a Triple Crown already on the résumé, he is positioned to command a massive contract. The only real question is whether he chases the long-term security of a multi-year deal or takes a shorter path with a bigger annual payday.
Either way, the bidding figures to be fierce.
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Braves Just Changed The Feel Of This Dodgers Series
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Raisel Iglesias closed it out to give Atlanta a much-needed split before the series shifts to Truist Park for Game 3, where the atmosphere figures to tilt sharply in the Braves' favor. After dropping the opener, Atlanta avoided heading home in a hole and instead turns the series into a best-of-three with momentum suddenly back in its corner. [Read more 🡒]