Tarik Skubal’s numbers in a Dodgers uniform have already been loud. His own standard is louder.
The left-hander closed his regular season with another overpowering outing Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, striking out 10, walking none and allowing just three hits over seven innings. He did it on 75 pitches, piling up 21 swings-and-misses along the way. For a pitcher who has been nearly impossible to square up since landing in Los Angeles, it was another clean, dominant night.
Skubal’s Dodgers line now sits at a 2.61 ERA across his first 10 starts. He has fanned 70 and issued only 13 walks in that stretch. By comparison, he had 116 strikeouts and 14 walks in 34.2 more innings with the Detroit Tigers this season.
And yet, after carving through the Giants, Skubal wasn’t interested in treating the night like some finished product.
“Those numbers are great. I think there’s just some things where I could be better,” Skubal said.
“[Friday] was a really good day, but I’ve also had some kind of poor performances. Especially the walk number to me kind of stands out.
That might be showing me that I’m a little timid subconsciously. I’m not attacking the way I know how to attack.
I had two last game. I feel like the last five or six starts I’ve had a walk in every single game.
“My stuff’s too good to give a guy a free pass. Let him earn it.
… I’ve got eight guys behind me, too. So let them earn their way on instead of giving a free pass.
There’s always room for improvement. I’m not really satisfied with anything I’ve accomplished so far.”
That kind of self-critique is exactly why Skubal has been so dangerous. He’s already performing like an ace, and he still sounds like he’s chasing something bigger.
Manager Dave Roberts certainly noticed.
“That was the best we’ve seen,” Roberts said. “He was on a mission tonight.
You could see it. Everything was working.
He just went after those guys and did a fantastic job. Pounded the zone.
Everything was working tonight.”
For the Dodgers, that mindset is the real separator. Skubal’s production has been excellent, but his refusal to settle for it is what should have the rest of MLB paying attention heading into the postseason. He knows there’s another gear available, and if he finds it in October, the trade deadline deal that brought him to Los Angeles will look even better than it already does.
It could also matter in a different way. With free agency looming, Skubal is giving himself every reason to be even more valuable.
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