Tarik Skubal delivered what manager Dave Roberts called his most dominant performance yet in a Dodgers uniform, throwing seven scoreless innings with just three hits allowed as Los Angeles shut out the San Francisco Giants 2-0 on Friday night at Oracle Park.
Skubal struck out 10 batters and faced two batters over the minimum in his final regular-season start, according to MLB. His pitch efficiency was striking: he threw 60 of 75 pitches for strikes and went 21-for-23 on first-pitch strikes. He generated 21 whiffs on 43 swings (48.8%), including a season-high 12 on his fastball.
“That was the best we’ve seen,” Roberts said. “He was on a mission tonight. You could see it. Everything was working.”
Skubal rebounded emphatically after a disappointing performance against the same team six days earlier at Dodger Stadium, when he lasted only five innings while allowing four runs. He attributed that outing to poor fastball command, but Friday’s display showed marked improvement across his entire arsenal.
“I think it’s the key to who I am,” Skubal said of his command. “I don’t know how many pitches I threw tonight, but felt like there were only like 14 or 15 balls.”
The Dodgers provided minimal offensive support, with solo home runs from Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages in the second inning accounting for the game’s only runs. Despite the thin margin, Skubal held firm throughout his outing.
With the Dodgers having already clinched the No. 2 postseason seed, manager Roberts used the final games of the regular season to fine-tune roster deployment ahead of the October 3 NLDS opener at Dodger Stadium. Rather than let Skubal attempt to complete his dominant performance, Roberts stuck to a predetermined plan to have Roki Sasaki pitch the eighth inning, giving the reliever crucial preparation for his postseason bullpen role. Sasaki threw a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts in his second appearance back from the injured list, while Tanner Scott closed out the victory.
“It’s better to have as many guys as you have confidence in in leverage,” Roberts said.
Skubal is part of the Dodgers’ four-man playoff rotation alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow. With his final tuneup complete, he appears postseason-ready.
“Once the months change and the playoffs start, nothing matters,” Skubal said. “It’s just about winning that game.”
Key facts
- Skubal threw seven scoreless innings on 75 pitches with 10 strikeouts and three hits allowed
- He went 21-for-23 on first-pitch strikes and generated 21 whiffs on 43 swings (48.8%)
- The Dodgers won 2-0 on solo home runs by Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages
- This was Skubal’s best performance as a Dodger, coming six days after allowing four runs in five innings against the same team
- The Dodgers have already clinched the No. 2 postseason seed with the NLDS beginning October 3