The Dodgers finally found just enough offense Friday night in Detroit, and it was enough to stop the slide. Los Angeles edged the Tigers 2-1, improving to 81-54 behind a late push and a clean finish from Tanner Scott, who picked up his 20th save.
The night also marked Tarik Skubal’s return to Comerica Park, and while the left-hander didn’t factor into the decision, he handled the assignment well. Skubal gave up one run on four hits across six innings, striking out seven without issuing a walk. The Dodgers kept putting runners on base all game long, but they never quite delivered the big hit until the end, leaving 15 men stranded.
Detroit got Skubal’s outing started with a little noise. Gleyber Torres lined a booming double to center to open the game, but Skubal settled in from there and mostly cruised. He struck out the side in the fourth, ran his total to six strikeouts, and continued to keep Los Angeles from cashing in.
The Dodgers had their best early chance in the fifth when they loaded the bases with two outs and forced Anderson out of the game. Teoscar Hernández singled to start the inning, Shohei Ohtani walked, and Drew Sommers came out of the bullpen to face Max Muncy.
Sommers won that battle, freezing the Dodgers with a strikeout to strand three more runners. By that point, Los Angeles had already left seven on base through five innings.
Skubal stayed spotless after the opening-inning double until Eduardo Valencia snapped the run in the seventh with a leadoff double. That opened the door for Detroit’s young core, and Max Clark made the moment count in his second at-bat against Skubal. His RBI triple brought the Tigers ahead 1-0 and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Los Angeles kept grinding. Kiké Hernández punched a single to right after Tucker reached second on an error, but Dino Ebel sent Tucker home aggressively and Ben Malgeri gunned him down at the plate from right field. The Dodgers had another chance to break through with runners in scoring position and still came away empty.
They did get the equalizer from Miguel Rojas, whose pinch-hit single off Sommers tied the game. Even then, the Dodgers loaded the bases again in the seventh against the Detroit bullpen and still couldn’t take the lead.
On the mound, Evan Phillips was sharp after taking over for Skubal out of the Dodgers bullpen, striking out the side on 10 pitches. He’s been back on track in his last 4-5 relief appearances.
The breakthrough finally came in the eighth. Teoscar opened with a single, moved up on Ben Rortvedt’s sacrifice bunt, and advanced to third on Ohtani’s groundout. Then Freddie Freeman delivered the two-out single to center that gave Los Angeles a 2-1 edge.
Brock Stewart helped preserve it in the bottom of the eighth, and the Dodgers finally turned a double play at a key moment to erase a leadoff walk to Clark and a Brett Callahan single. Tanner Scott handled the ninth, striking out two and locking down the win.
There were no home runs in the game.
The Dodgers and Pirates continue the series on Saturday at 10:10 a.m. PT on SportsNet LA. Blake Snell (2-1, 2.57 ERA, 1.05 WHIP) is set to face Keider Montero (9-8, 3.30 ERA, 1.00 WHIP).
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