Tarik Skubal had every reason to be frustrated Saturday night, and he didn’t bother hiding it.
Between innings in the Dodgers dugout at UNIQLO Field at Dodger Stadium, the left-hander blew off steam after a rough outing against the San Francisco Giants. He took off his glove and hat and threw them onto the bench, then grabbed a bottle and fired it at the wall before settling down, getting back up, and heading toward the clubhouse.
Afterward, Skubal made it clear the reaction came from pure frustration with his own performance.
“Sometimes you get frustrated and you got to get it out,” Skubal said to reporters. “It’s no good just keeping it pent up.
So yeah, I’m a believer in getting that stuff out and kind of just moving on from the moment. The frustration is based on execution and knowing who I am and I’m just not doing that.”
The outing was his worst since joining Los Angeles. Against a Giants lineup described as weak, Skubal gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out only three batters, his fewest in nine starts with LA. It was also his first time allowing four runs since June 24, and he hadn’t finished with fewer than four strikeouts since April 1.
What went wrong was pretty straightforward in Skubal’s eyes.
“Fastball command wasn’t great,” he said of what went wrong. “Not driving it up and in, kind of pulling the ball down at times, pushing it up at times. I think almost [all] pitching is all fastball command, and mine wasn’t great today.”
Even with Skubal laboring, the Dodgers’ offense bailed him out and scored 10 runs, putting him in line for the win - his fourth as a Dodger. That came after what had been his best start with Los Angeles, so the reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner still had a higher standard in mind.
He should get one more regular-season start before likely taking the ball in one of the team’s first two postseason games.
Skubal’s October résumé is already well established. The two-time All-Star has six career postseason starts, all of them over the last two years with the Detroit Tigers. In those outings, he has posted a 2.04 ERA with 56 strikeouts and six walks across 39.2 innings, and he has gone at least six innings in every start.
In Other News...
Dodgers Just Got An October Boost Fans Have Been Waiting For
The Dodgers got a familiar September jolt with two important reinforcements coming off the injured list as the club heads into the final week of the regular season. Dave Roberts said right-hander Tyler Glasnow is healthy and ready to help when October arrives, a welcome development for a team that has spent much of the year trying to keep its pitching group intact for the stretch run.
Los Angeles also had to make room on the roster by sending two players back down, another reminder of how quickly the picture can change at this time of year. Beyond the immediate playoff implications, there is already some offseason intrigue swirling around the Dodgers, with ESPNs Jeff Passan reporting that pitcher Tarik Skubal could be in line for a massive free-agent deal this winter, a detail that will only add to the teams long-term planning conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Fans Just Got A New Reason To Watch Tarik Skubal
Tarik Skubal showed up at SoFi Stadium on Monday night with another Dodgers star in tow, as he and Mookie Betts took in the Rams-Giants matchup. Skubal was down at field level while Betts watched from a suite that also included Myles Garrett and Aaron Donalds wife, a small but notable reminder that the Dodgers biggest names do not exactly disappear when the baseball schedule pauses.
For Los Angeles, Skubals appearance comes at an interesting moment. He was recently placed on the Dodgers bereavement list and is currently expected to start the final regular-season game, though that could still change. Even with the season winding down, the Dodgers are keeping an eye on anything that might affect the rotation, and a night out around the NFL only added another layer to the intrigue around Skubals week. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Letting Ryan Ward Go Took An Unexpected Turn
Ryan Wards exit from the Dodgers organization moved quickly. Just six days after being designated for assignment, he agreed to a contract with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball, ending a run that had kept him in the Dodgers system for his entire professional career. It was a familiar kind of roster churn for this time of year, but the destination made the move stand out.
For the Dodgers, Wards recent minor league production had already made his standing uncertain, and the roster rules created an unusual layer to his departure. He was only eligible to play for the Dodgers in the 2026 postseason, which meant Los Angeles still had some control over his future in a narrow sense, even as the organization opened the door for him to continue his career abroad. [Read more 🡒]